The Wind and the Rain
by The Soul of Light and Dark
Summary: His mate was taken by the Lord of Nightmares. Now he'll cross all of Sinnoh to get her back. Rated T for violence and occasional language.
1. Two Pasts, One Future

Hello everybody! New story for you all! And guess what! It's multi-chapter! ***exclamations of awe*** When I originally got this idea, I'd planned to make it into a CG movie. Unfortunately, seeing as I have no video making program of any kind…yeah. Well, I've been carrying this around for a few months, and then I decided that, more to keep my ideas straight than anything else, I'd make it into a fanfic. Major tribute to LunarEclipse and GalladeXGardevoir, which I have been told is called MedievalStory (I have to check that). Well, enjoy, and for Arceus's sake, REVIEW!

I am not even going to do the disclaimer, because you all know that I don't own Pokemon. …Wait, did I just…DANG IT!

THE WIND AND THE RAINChapter 1: Two Pasts, One Future

The sun shone cheerily from its lofty perch high atop a cloudless blue sky, casting golden rays down on a vast expanse of green splashed liberally with patches of shining gold and white that was a great pasture filled with the first blooms of spring. A gentle gust passed over the field, creating a wide sweeping wave as the flowers bowed in the wind. At that moment, a hand was reaching down to pluck one such flower. A green hand with only two fingers.

The young Gardevoir brought the little yellow flower to her face and inhaled slowly, a look of simple delight and serenity on her face. "So wonderful," she said softly to herself as she knelt amongst other such yellow blossoms. "Indeed," came a new voice, male this time. The Gardevoir slowly turned her head to look behind her and her smile widened even more. "In my opinion, there is only one thing sweeter than the scent of a freshly picked wildflower," the new speaker said, approaching the girl and offering her his hand. She reached up, placing her own in it, and allowed herself to be pulled into a standing position, all the time watching the face of the Gallade who was looking at her with unconcealed adoration. "And that is you, Rain."

"You flatter me too much Zephyr," she replied, glowing happily nonetheless. "I speak only what I feel at all times, as well you know," he replied, before placing an arm around her shoulders. They began to walk across the field, watching as a flock of Butterfree flew among the blossoms chattering excitedly to themselves, and any observer would know at first glance that between them there was a love that would withstand any trial.

"How long has it been?" Zephyr asked at length. Rain considered a little while before answering. "About four months." Zephyr blinked in surprise. "That long already? My, seems barely a week. How time does fly." They continued to walk in silence for a little while when Zephyr spoke again.

"You know," he said. "This may seem a little odd, but I don't think either of us have actually talked about our past much." Rain paused to consider a moment. "You know, you're right. Huh, you'd think something like that would have come up sooner." Zephyr chuckled softly. "Well, why don't you start?"

"Well, there isn't really that much to tell, actually," she said. "I was born in a forest about four...miles, isn't it? about that way. I depended on my mother for about the first year of my life, until I was old enough to find food for myself. It was another two years before I was old enough to start helping out with my pack. I started out as a harvester, and that's what I've been doing ever since. I didn't see my dad all that much until he retired from the warriors, but I knew he still loved my mom and me, and he visited whenever he could. Now we see him whenever we like. And that's how life went for me, until I met you." At this, she turned to him with yet another radiant smile. "Now, how about you? What was your life like?"

Zephyr grinned. "Well, I started out kinda like you, except I was born a lot farther away. I don't even remember exactly where anymore. I always knew I was a little different from the others my age, but at first I didn't really know what. I don't know about your pack, but in mine the young Ralts never really walked or ran. Our parents carried us until we were old enough to Teleport, and that was how we got around after that. Once I evolved, though, I could tell what set me apart. The Kirlia in the pack liked to have footraces, probably to celebrate having legs you could actually walk on. If I was ever in the group, everyone else needed a head start or I'd beat them all for sure."

"It was a pretty sweet life," he went on brightly, but then his face darkened. "Or at least it was." Rain looked at him with a little concern. "What happened?" Zephyr glanced at her, and his face was morose. "Well, like I said I don't really remember where my home ground is, but I remember it was a wetland of some kind. We were a tribe of fishers, so we were dependent on the water, and we always lived near a river. Unfortunately, that area also happened to be home to a rather nasty population of Crawdaunt. Most of the time they weren't much of a problem. The males in our pack were usually able to fend them off. My dad was the leader of the warriors. He was the toughest Gallade you'd find anywhere, and I always wanted to take his place some day and make him proud, but I never got my chance."

"The night of the incident was just like any other night. The mothers and the children were gathered around the fires, roasting the day's catches and playing amongst themselves, while the males stood guard by the edge of the river. The Crawdaunt always came from the water before, and we always expected them to. We thought that they couldn't be very bright being that predictable, but it turns out we were the stupid ones."

"All of a sudden, a claw larger than my head came whipping out of the grass behind the patrol and clamped around my dad's chest. He was already dead before the thing dragged him back into the reeds. I still keep thinking about how unfair that was. My dad, toughest of the tough, got killed by a sneak attack without even getting a chance to fight. Anyway, the other fighters went down pretty quickly, and after that it just turned into a slaughter. The women and children couldn't fight against the Dark-Type advantage, and we were surrounded, so escape wasn't an option. The only reason I'm still alive is because my mom managed to hide me in a hollow tree nearby before they noticed her."

"When I came out the next morning, the only thing I saw was a lot of dead bodies. I never found my mom, but I wasn't about to kid myself that she was still alive somewhere. My guess is they dragged her off and ate her. Anyway, I knew it was suicide to stay in the marsh, so I left as fast as I could. Since I was a second stage evolution, I was old enough to fend for myself, so I just wandered around, surviving."

Zephyr broke off at this point, and there were tears in his eyes. Rain put a hand on his shoulder, her eyes sad as well. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I had no idea." Zephyr sighed and took a deep breath to regain his composure before turning to look at her with grateful eyes. "Thanks," he said, "but you don't need to be sorry. There was nothing you could do, and anyway it was a long time ago."

"Anyway, I just lived on a day by day basis. I didn't know what the future held, and I didn't really care. I guess I lost the ability to care about much anything except staying alive. I don't know how much of my life passed like that. I can't really remember that time all that well. Everything's a pretty big blur until I met him."

"Zach Edwards, rising Pokemon Trainer and hopeful future league champion. Well, what Trainer isn't? He found me wandering around Eterna Forest, and he took a shine to me. Took me down in about a minute, and caught me like it was nothing at all. However, he wasn't anything like other Trainers. The first thing he did after he caught me was get me healed at a Pokemon Center, and then he brought me right back to where he'd caught me."

"I expected him to introduce himself, welcome me to the team, all the other slave induction rights that other Trainers do when they catch a Pokemon. Trainers say they make friends with their Pokemon, but very few actually do. Most actually just treat them like pets or trained animals, which jump at a command. They give all the orders, and they take all the credit for things their Pokemon do. Humans say that they view Pokemon as equals, but in reality we're just really smart animals to them. I think most of them don't actually believe we're sentient, even though we are."

"But Zach was different. The first words I heard out of his mouth were "Would you like me to set you free?" I realized that he wasn't like the others I had seen. He did view Pokemon as intelligent, and he respected them. I knew he wanted me to stay, but if I didn't want to, he wouldn't make me, even though he could. I think it was that kindness, more than anything else, that made me stay with him. Well, that and the fact that I didn't really have any other prospects."

"My time with him was the best of my life up to then. The first thing I noticed was that he never talked down to me, like I was an animal who had done a trick. When he praised me, it was like he was talking to a friend. Then I noticed that he would ask my opinion on things, which meant that he respected my judgement. I knew he did that with all his Pokemon, but it still made me feel special. For the first time in a long time, I was happy again. And when he would talk to me about his dream of being League Champion, I found myself looking to the future again. I saw myself standing next to Zach on some imagined pedestal, watching him hold some extravagant trophy and knowing that I'd helped him get there, and he knew it and was grateful."

"I responded with devotion and unquestioning obedience. If he had ever said 'jump' I wouldn't have even asked how high, I would have just jumped. Not that he ever did, though. Gradually, our relationship bloomed into one of friendship. He began letting me out of my Pokeball for no particular reason. Sometimes we'd talk, sometimes he'd show me the scenery. A lot of times he would teach me things, share knowledge that humans had gathered that Pokemon wouldn't have, as you know. Every time, right before he put my back, he would ask me if I was happy with him, and I always said yes without any hesitation. One day, he let me out, and he never put me back in again."

"Now, being a male Kirlia, I had a choice to make, as you know I trust. Gardevoir or Gallade? The thing was, Zach had been hoping that I might choose the pure Psychic type. I wanted to make him happy after everything he'd done for me, but I'd always wanted to be like my dad, too, and I didn't know which I should pick. For the longest time, I couldn't choose between what I wanted and what he wanted, which shows how close we'd grown. One day, though, he walked up behind me and tapped me on the head with a stone. The next thing I knew was a blinding white light, and when it was gone there I stood, a Gallade. Lying next to me was a spent Dawn Stone. That, if I had ever needed any more, was the final bit of proof that Zach saw me as an equal, a friend: he was willing to choose what I wanted over what he wanted."

"It wasn't long before we had made a name for ourselves. His skill as a Trainer, as well as my rather unusual quality, quickly built our reputation for us. Eventually I got used to walking into a Pokemon Center and hearing someone shout 'Hey, it's Zach and the Razorwind!' Life was pretty good. Of course, it got better when I met you. You remember that part, right?"

By now the pair was sitting in the shade of a tall oak tree at the edge of the meadow. "Of course I do," Rain replied, before leaning against Zephyr and resting her head on his shoulder. "But I love to hear you tell it anyway." Zephyr gently stroked her hair and smiled, saying nothing for a short while. "All right," he said at last.

-(000)-

Cliff hangeeeeerrrr! Please, read and review. I'd love to know what you think. The first few chapters should come fairly quickly, but please bear with me if (read: when) it starts to slow down.


	2. Learning to Love

Learning to Love

A Scizor stood in the center of a clearing about 20 feet in diameter, panting hard. At one end of the field, a human of about 17 looked at him with concern.

'Damn it,' he thought to himself. 'Scizor's being pushed too hard. He's already had to fight nine other Pokemon.' Still, he reflected, his opponent could only have one Pokemon left, so maybe he'd be able to pull off a quick win and get to a Pokemon Center.

Zach Edwards sighed to himself. This was the price for being as famous as he was. He was currently in Hearthrome City, having passed by the Gym there when he had first arrived. He hadn't had any Pokemon with him at the time that would be very effective against the legions of Ghost type Pokemon he would have to face, so he had simply continued past it, managing to acquire every other badge. Now that he had a recently evolved Honchkrow and Drapion, he liked his oddsf a little better, so he had returned.

Unfortunately, when one accomplishes as much as Zach had, one tends to get a little famous. Upon arriving in Hearthrome, he was set upon by a crowd of no less than 15 people all demanding one-on-one battles with him. Not being one to back down from any challenge, Zach accepted. However, 15 straight matches would take a serious toll on even a team as strong as his, and one by one his Pokemon had fallen to the sheer numbers more than anything else, seeing as the Trainers of Hearthrome weren't particularly tough. Scizor was the last member of his team still able to stand up. Well, second-to-last, but in minor battles like this Zach always, _always_ saved his ace until the very end.

"You _are _as strong as they say," called his opponent, whose name Zach couldn't recall. After the eighth Trainer, he had simply stopped trying.

"Well, if I wasn't, I wouldn't have this, would I?" he responded, reaching into his coat and pulling out the Sunnyshore City Gym Badge.

"Of course, that doesn't matter, cuz I'm gonna beat you right now," the other Trainer called.

'Oh yeah?' Zach thought to himself. 'Would you be this y if you hadn't had 14 other goons to wear my team down?'

His opponent reached to his belt and pulled out his last Pokeball. Enlarging it, he tossed it toward the center of the battlefield with a casual flick of his wrist. Upon colliding with the ground it split in half and released a large quantity of glowing white energy. The energy writhed around for about a second before quickly taking shape and solidifying into a burly Machoke. It flexed its arms slightly before staring down its opponent and growling menacingly.

Scizor cringed, and Zach groaned inwardly; the type-disadvantage meant that Scizor probably wasn't going to walk away from this. If he had been in top condition, it wouldn't really have mattered, because this Machoke couldn't be more than level 25-30 at the very most, as opposed to Scizor, who was level 59 going on 60. However, battered as he was, Scizor would probably lose.

Still, that didn't mean Zach was going to give up, and Scizor would sooner rip off his wings than surrender. Therefore, Zach gave a quick hand signal, to which Scizor responded by charging forward. The other Trainer signed as well, and the Machoke braced itself. In this day and age, if you tried verbally giving commands to your Pokemon, you would instantly label yourself a greenhorn and/or an idiot, and you were liable to get laughed out of the room. Doing so flat out told your opponent and his Pokemon exactly what to expect, which made it so pathetically easy to counter. The norm now was to work out a personal signal system with your Pokemon.

Scizor closed the gap between himself and his opponent and raised both his claws over his head. The Machoke raised its forearms in front of itself as Scizor brought both of them down in a powerful X-Scissor, leaving deep gashes in the proffered limbs. However, this fleeting triumph was soon lost, because before Scizor had a chance to pull away the Machoke had grabbed his neck and one of his claws. Hoisting him over its head, the Machoke turned on the spot and pile drived him headfirst into the ground. He did not get back up.

'Damn Vital Throw,' Zach thought, pulling Scizor's Pokeball from his belt and recalling him. He sighed dramatically as his opponent gave a whoop.

"Now you've only got one left," he called. Zach shook his head and grinned. This guy obviously had just followed the crowd and didn't actually know all that much about him. Otherwise he wouldn't be excited at all.

Turning to the figure that had been standing beside him throughout the match with crossed arms and a relaxed posture, Zach sighed again. "Well, what do you think? Time to surrender?"

Zephyr grinned slightly and responded the way he always did whenever Zach asked him this question. "Who are you, and what have you done with Zach Edwards?"

Zach laughed appreciatively. "I didn't think so."

Zephyr turned to look at his opponent and his face took on a slightly bored look. "This'll be cake," he said. "I won't even need the type advantage. The only reason this thing won against Scizor is because he was already so worn down in the first place. The type disadvantage didn't even have much to do with it." Of course, Zephyr hadn't actually spoken out loud. Zach had tried several times to teach him the human language, but his vocal cords seemed to be unable to make any sound other than his battle cry. So instead, he communicated using a mental channel, thinking his words directly into Zach's brain, or whomever else he might be trying to talk to. Being a Psychic type had its advantages.

If anyone blinked at that second, they might have assumed that Zephyr had simply vanished into thin air. In the next second, the Machoke roared in pain as a rather nasty slice appeared in its back, spouting blood. Then Zephyr appeared in front of it, crouched in the typical Gallade fighting pose: body tilted sideways, one arm forward, one arm back, both blades extended.

"Too slow," he taunted, wearing a wicked grin before vanishing in a blur of speed.

Zephyr was not like normal Gallade. It was true that Gallade were typically fairly fast creatures, but Zephyr had speed that was several levels beyond that. Ever since he'd been born, he'd always been just a little bit quicker than the others at his age, and with each evolution, his speed multiplied. When he'd finally become a Gallade, it had exploded to the point that he could match a Pikachu that was using Agility, which was quite easily saying something. Most opponents considered it a major accomplishment if they even managed to make contact with Zephyr more than three times. As for defeating him, well, even the Elite Four themselves were starting to wonder if that was even possible for anyone less than Cynthia herself.

The Machoke looked about itself in confusion, trying to get a lock on Zephyr. A sudden rustle of movement above its head caused it to look up just in time to have its nose broken as Zephyr stamped on its face. Flipping neatly in the air, he landed lightly and stepped to the left as the Machoke attempted to punch him in the gut. Then, before the Machoke even had time to register that its blow had missed, Zephyr had grabbed its wrist with his left hand, brought his right hand over his head and swung it down hard on the Machoke's exposed upper arm.

The was a very audible _CRACK_, which was immediately followed by the sound of the Machoke howling in pain as it clutched its now useless right arm. The sound was muffled suddenly when Zephyr buried his fist into the creature's face, and when it took its hand away to grasp its jaw, he took the chance to dig his right arm blade deep into its exposed chest, leaving a bloody trench behind. Then he was gone in another blur, only to reappear in mid-air behind the Machoke a second later. He stay put barely long enough to deal a powerful spin quick to the back of its head before he was gone again, this time appearing in a crouching position in the front of his opponent as he swept its legs out from under it and caused it to fall to the ground.

Zach looked away from the rather pathetic scene and glanced across the field at his opponent. He was very gratified to see the boy was as white as a sheet and not nearly so arrogant now. Zephyr had that effect on people.

'Where's that ego now?' Zach thought mockingly. 'Or have you realized just how far out of your depth you are?'

Zephyr paused in his attacks and surveyed his opponent. The Machoke had been reduced to a bloody, quivering fetal position on the ground, moaning piteously. Zephyr thought that surely it must have had enough, but then it sensed that the attacks had ceased and stood up again, roaring with anger.

"Oh cut the dramatics," Zephyr said to it. "You're half dead."

"Shut up you little prick!" it roared at him. "I'll paste your damn head into the ground!" Zephyr laughed a little derisively. Normally he was a very agreeable person, but when battle rolled around he just couldn't stop himself from throwing out a little trash talk.

"And this will be after you catch me, right?" he mocked.

"Alright Zephyr," Zach called from the end of the field. "Finish it off and let's get out of here. I've got some tired Pokemon to get to the Center." Zephyr waved at him before turning back to his opponent, who was now lunging at him. He stepped smartly aside and, retracting his arm blade momentarily so that he didn't puncture a lung or something, he elbowed the Machoke in the back as it sailed past, causing it to pitch forward onto its hands and knees. The he raised his left leg in a vertical split before he dropped it very hard onto his opponent's back, making it fall onto its face. Before it could move again, Zephyr had hoisted it with both hands and hurled it into the air.

It went up about twenty vertical feet before it started to fall again. However, it had only fallen two feet when Zephyr appeared next to it, having jumped up after it. He grabbed its exposed leg and, flipping once in midair to gain momentum, he hurled it downward. It sailed straight down like a missile, howling with before slamming into the ground with a massive _BOOM_ and leaving a large crater. Then there was a slightly smaller _boom_ as Zephyr landed on top of him with fist leading. He waited for a full minute to make sure his opponent wasn't playing dead, and then reached down and checked for a pulse to make sure his opponent wasn't actually dead. Satisfied that neither was the case, he then hoisted the unconscious Machoke over his shoulder, climbed out of the crater, and dumped it on the ground before thrusting his fist into the air.

"Alright Zephyr!" Zach called, also pumping the air with his fist. Zephyr walked over to him with a proud smile on his face. When he was near enough he raised his hand over his head, which Zach slapped, took hold of and squeezed affectionately. "I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you how much fun it is to watch you work," he said. Zephyr shrugged modestly.

"It's just what I do," he replied.

"Well, I certainly hope you keep doing it. Cynthia doesn't stand a chance."

Still laughing with triumph, Zach turned around and began to head toward the Pokemon Center, completely ignoring his opponent, who was looking at his Machoke as though it was a meteorite that had just hit the ground. Zephyr turned to follow him when he suddenly got the feeling that he was being watched. He turned quickly, but there was nothing in that direction except a lone tree just beyond the outskirts of town. Shrugging, he turned and followed his Trainer, failing utterly to notice as a slender figure stepped out from behind the tree where she had hidden and watched him walk up the street.

-(000)-

Zephyr was leaning against the trunk of the same tree that evening while Zach and the rest of his team slept around the smoldering remains of their campfire, Zach in a tent, the others sprawled haphazardly about. Zach generally didn't sleep in the rooms offered by Pokemon Centers, due to their being rather small and very bare bones, and was prone to sleep under the stars if someone hadn't offered him a bed, which didn't happen often. Whenever he did this, he would always let his team out to stretch and get some air. If he had his way, his Pokemon wouldn't stay in balls for any length of time, but since the custom was for a Trainer to only have one familiar, and seeing as some of his Pokemon were rather large, this was not the case.

Zephyr glanced over his companions briefly. There was Scizor, fully restored and healthy, leaning against a large rock as he snored rather loudly. Honchkrow was sleeping right next to the campfire with her head under one wing, and Drapion was laid out on the ground next to her, one pincer clutching a rather large rock. Honchkrow had evolved about a month previous and had gotten used to her new form, but Drapion had only changed about a week ago and was still playing with his new strength. He had amused himself for most of the evening by picking up large rocks and crushing them to dust.

There was also a Salamence curled into a large coil on the ground. Most people who saw her usually had to make a supreme effort not to run in , but that was before they realized just how playful and friendly she was. That is, when she was not unleashing a massive jet of flame at their doomed Pokemon. Next to her was a Luxio whom Zach had just caught. He was kinda small compared to most every other member of the team, but he had a mouth on him that should have belonged to a creature three times his size, and way too much energy.

Zephyr allowed his gaze to rest briefly on each one, glanced at Zach's snoring tent, and then returned his gaze to the heavens, where it had been a moment before. He was not on watch duty; there was never a need for one, because pretty much everything, Pokemon or human. Left Zach and his team alone for good reason. He just enjoyed staying up late for a little while and watching the stars and the moon, which tonight was full, round, and gleaming.

Suddenly a slight movement caught Zephyr's eye. He lowered his gaze to focus on what had caused it, and his mouth dropped open. Standing at the edge of the nearby forest, outlined in silver moonlight, almost like a scene from a storybook, was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen: a young Gardevoir with shining forest green hair and a graceful hourglass figure over which was worn a snow white elegant dress. She had the face of an angel, and her ruby red eyes were gentle, kind, and captivating.

'Oh my Arceus,' was the first intelligible thing he managed to think after staring at her for twenty solid minutes. He was suddenly very grateful that, as far as he could tell, she had not noticed him gaping like an idiot. 'Well, am I just gonna look all night?' he thought to himself before lifting himself off the tree and walking slowly towards her.

She failed to notice him until he was practically right beside her. Suddenly, though, she turned to look at him, looking slightly startled. "Sorry," Zephyr said quickly. "Didn't mean to disturb you. I just like watching the stars and here seemed like a good spot. You don't mind, do you?"

"Oh, no. Not at all," she said in a voice that made Zephyr's heart skip a beat. It was soft, smooth, and melodious. "I love watching them too." She stepped aside slightly, offering him a better position by her side, which he accepted. "The moon is very beautiful tonight," she commented.

"Yeah, I noticed that too," he replied. "I could be wrong, but I _think_ it's trying to match you." He glanced at her to see that she had looked at him with a slightly surprised expression. "Not doing a very good job, though," he commented.

She looked away, an embarrassed but appreciative smile on her face and a slight emerald tinge to her cheeks. "You're too kind," she said.

"Nonsense," he returned. "I only say what I feel. I'm Zephyr, by the way," he went on.

"My name's Rain," she said a little shyly.

"Rain, huh? Well, it fits: a beautiful name for a beautiful woman." Her blush became even more pronounced.

He smiled, and then looked back up at the sky, not at the moon but at the stars this time. "Let's see…" he muttered to himself. "It should be right about…there," he suddenly said, pointing at a cluster of stars. Rain looked up and followed his finger.

"What?" she asked, a little puzzled.

"Gemini," he responded, but she only looked at him with confusion. "The twins?" he offered, but still nothing. "See, there's the one over there." Here he pointed to a cluster of stars. "And the other one is-"

Then it clicked. "Wait, you don't know what a constellation is, do you?" he asked.

"A what?" she asked, looking lost. Zephyr smacked his forehead.

"What am I saying? Of course you wouldn't. Hang on, I'll be right back." With that, he jogged away from her and toward the camp of Pokemon he had left. He quietly unzipped Zach's tent and, being careful not to wake him, rummaged through his pack and pulled out a large, yet thin, book. This acquired, he dashed back over to Rain's side and split it open.

"A constellation," he explained, rifling through the pages, "is a picture made of stars. Humans took several famous images, like the virgin Virgo and Scorpio, the giant Skorupi, found clusters of stars that looked sort of like them, and used them to tell the seasons back before the calendar was invented"–at the word calendar, she looked at him a little blankly-. "Now they're just used for stargazing. Ah, here we are," he said, opening to a particular page and showing it to her.

"Gemini, the twins," he read. "Gemini is the third sign of the Zodiac, and is associated with the third astrological house. The sign Gemini is said to rule over such matters as communications, siblings, neighbors, travel, and education." Below this passage was a picture of the star clusters that were supposed to represent the two twins, connected by imaginary lines.

"Now, look up at that spot and imagine that the stars are being connected by lines," he said, directing her gaze up toward the heavens. "Can you see the twins?" For a moment, she looked disappointedly upward, clearly not seeing anything, but then her face lit up.

"I see them!" she said excitedly. "There's the one over there, and the other one is right next to him, right?" Zephyr smiled.

"Very good," he said.

"Are there more constellations?" she asked, sounding excited and full of interest.

"Sure, but most of them can only be seen during certain seasons. Still, tonight we should be able to see Libra somewhere over to the west."

He flipped to the appropriate page, showing her the outline before searching for the actual star cluster. "I see it!" Rain called suddenly, pointing. Zephyr looked up with an amused smile, expecting to see just a random bunch of stars that weren't actually anything. However, to his surprise he found that he actually was looking at Libra. He looked at her, impressed.

"You catch on quickly, don't you?" The grin she wore was clearly etched with pride.

"I try my best. What's another one?"

They spent the rest of the evening like that, with Zephyr reading about the constellations while Rain searched for them. Both completely lost track of the time, and it wasn't until the stars faded from view in the approaching sunlight that either realized just how much time had passed.

"Well, I guess I'd better get back over there. Zach'll wonder where I am if I'm not the first thing he sees in the morning."

"I wish you didn't have to go," she said, looking disappointed. "Last night was so much fun." He smiled at her.

"I had fun too, but don't worry. We'll be staying in town for another week at least, and we'll probably be camping out back here again, so I'll still be here for a while." He stretched, yawned, and picked up the book from where he had placed in on the ground. "Man, I'm gonna be beat today. I hope I don't have to fight any battles."

"Oh, that reminds me," Rain said. "I wanted to congratulate you on your victory yesterday. You were…well, you were amazing." Zephyr blinked.

"So that was you, was it? I _thought_ someone was watching me. Well, thanks."

He gave her a quick, final wave before turning around and heading back to the camp. As he settled down next to the tree to get whatever sleep he could manage, he gave one last glance to Rain as she slipped back into the trees. 'Arceus, you might want to do a head count,' he thought to himself, before sleep overtook him. 'I think you'll find you're short one angel.'

-(000)-

Fortunately for Zephyr, he did not have to fight any battles. The day's itinerary consisted only of a visit to the local PokeMart to restock on potions and revives. After that, Zach had taken his team to watch a Pokemon contest. Try though he might, Zephyr found it very hard to focus on the demonstration before him, which was a pity, because it was rather show stopping. Again and again he found his thoughts slipping back to Rain: the evening they had spent together, her smile, her laugh, and her beautiful face. He found himself actually counting the hours until the time when Zach usually called it a day, which he eventually did.

Zephyr wasn't really sure why he forced himself to wait until he was sure that Zach was asleep. He certainly wasn't doing anything wrong. Still, he didn't dare leave his usual position until he heard Zach's low droning snore coming from his tent. When he did, he stole silently over to the tree line, searching for her.

He found her standing in roughly the same spot she had been in last night and walked up to her. As before, she heard him coming before he had managed to make an effort at announcing his presence. She looked up and, when she recognized him, her face broke into a grin. "Hello Zephyr," she said. "Good to see you Rain," he replied. "So," she asked, her tone playful, "is the moon faring any better tonight?"

He smiled appreciatively. "Not even close."

He retook his place by her side and set his gaze to the heavens, but by and by he noticed that she seemed to have something on her mind. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, but all he got was a confused look. "Sorry, human phrase. What's on your mind?"

Suddenly she looked a little embarrassed. "Well," she began hesitantly, "I was thinking about last night, when you brought that book. I mean, you were reading it like it was nothing and I, well, I couldn't make sense of anything except the pictures. I was wondering…I hoped that, if it wasn't too much trouble-I mean, you probably wouldn't want to bother. It's stupid, really. I just sort of-"

He put one finger to her lips, cutting off her babbling. "You'd like me to teach you to read, right?"

She nodded before quickly adding, "It's alright if you don't want to. If it's too much trouble-" but he cut her off with a raised hand.

"Don't be silly," he said kindly. "Of course I'll teach you." With that, he marched back to camp.

When he returned, he was holding a chalkboard and a book for young children, the same one Zach had given him when he was learning to read "First thing's first," he said, laying the chalkboard across his lap and scribbling on it. "You need to learn the alphabet. It's the source of all writing, at least in this language. There are 26 different symbols called letters, and they make up all the words people write. 20 of them are called consonants," he continued, writing the appropriate letters in a separate column. "The rules don't usually change much with them. The other five letters are vowels, and they're a little trickier, but we'll get to that in a second. With me so far?" She nodded, looking at the symbols intently. "Now, the letter y is a bit of an oddball, but we'll get to the specifics a little later. For right now, we'll just call it a vowel, cuz that's what it's used as most of the time. Now, each letter makes a certain sound, and while sometimes that sound changes, especially with the vowels, most of the time it stays the same. We'll start easy, with the letter b. The sound it makes is "buh". And c makes the…"

And so it went. Rain was an excellent student, learning extraordinarily quickly. At first, she had to ask for help a lot, but as she slowly managed to remember the secrets of the written language, she needed help less and less. In an hour, she had already moved on to the book itself.

"See…the ball," she read slowly. "Piplup…likes the ball. He…um."

"Chases," Zephyr prompted. "Remember, a c and an h together make the "chuh" sound."

"Right, let's see. He chases the ball. He is happy." She turned the page and continued. "Oh no. Where did the ball go? Piplup is sad. He…" She continued on, reading the whole book in about five minutes, which was less than half the time it had taken Zephyr to get through it. When she was done, she asked if there were any harder books she could try.

Unfortunately, though Zephyr looked, he couldn't find anything that was on her current reading level. The only other thing he could find was a rather long novel, which she quickly admitted was beyond her. So instead, Zephyr sat against a nearby tree trunk and read the story out loud as Rain sat next to him. It was a romance about a farm boy who met a beautiful wandering around lost. Falling for her immediately, he took her to his hovel and cared for her, earning her affection as well.

Sadly, the turned out to be a princess, and eventually her father found her and took her away. Royal decree prevented those of higher status from marrying peasants, so the boy tried to become a knight so that he might be allowed to be with her. The rest of the book detailed the various adventures he went on during his apprenticeship, including the slaying of a rather vicious dragon. In the end, he gets knighted, marries the girl, and lived happily ever after. Rain listened intently throughout, asking many questions about concepts that she didn't understand. They finished the story just before daybreak, said their good-byes, and went their separate ways, each already looking forward to seeing the other that evening.

-(000)-

"Hello? Earth to Zephyr. Incoming communication. Do you copy?" Zephyr flinched away as Zach waved his hand in front of his face.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. He'd been daydreaming about Rain again. "Spaced out for a moment." Zach looked at him a little curiously.

"You've been doing that a lot the past two days. Something on you mind?"

'Only the most beautiful thing to ever grace the face of the earth,' Zephyr thought privately, but to Zach he said, "Not particularly."

"Well, try to stay focused," Zach said bracingly. "I know this Gym'll probably be a cakewalk, but we still need to play tough. Don't let your guard down for a moment."

-(000)-

"Hi Zephyr," Rain said brightly when he reappeared that evening. "So, is the moon doing any better tonight?" Zephyr laughed.

"Not in the least. So, what shall I teach you tonight?" She looked at him, a little surprised.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, that's how these evenings seemed to be going. The first night I taught you about constellations, and last night I showed you how to read. What'll it be tonight?" She considered for a moment.

"Well actually," she said at last, "I've been rather curious about Pokemon Trainers. Why do they catch Pokemon? Do they do anything besides battling? How did training get started?"

That was how it went for the next week and a half. By day, Zephyr would travel around Hearthrome with Zach, running errands here, fighting a few battles there, and all the while building up to the Gym battle looming on the horizon. At night, he would educate Rain on matters as different as meteorology and cooking. She was a ravenous learner, always ready with a question or a new topic. Zephyr was glad to tell her everything he knew and did so without hesitation. Eventually he realized that he had fallen completely and inescapably in love with this beautiful creature. While this was a happy thought most of the time, he also couldn't help but think about the fact that he wasn't going to stay forever, and the thought of leaving Rain behind was painful. Still, he hid this from her as best he could and focused on enjoying the time he did have.

However, ignoring an issue will not make it go away. Eventually Zach tried for and acquired the Relic Badge, and with a surprising amount of ease at that. Drapion had been more than enough to carry him the entire battle, and had won with plenty in reserve. Zach was already making plans to be back in Sunnyshore within three days, which meant that they'd be leaving tomorrow.

These thoughts kept forcing themselves on Zephyr as he walked over to Rain for what seemed to be the last time. She looked up as he approached and smiled. "Hello Zephyr," she said. "Is the moon doing better tonight?" He laughed.

"The moon can try all it wants to, but it will never match you, and I'd stake that claim with my life." She blushed at that and looked away. When her gaze returned to him, however, she found him looking toward the heavens with a profoundly sad air.

"What's the matter Zephyr?" she asked, and he looked at her with morose eyes.

"I'm afraid this is the last time I'll ever see you," he said. "Zach won his badge today, and he's planning to leave tomorrow morning." Zephyr was surprised to see just how badly this news affected her. She looked beyond crestfallen, almost devastated.

"I'm gonna miss you," she said softly.

"Me too," he said.

"Still, you'll being going to the Pokemon League, right?" she said, trying and failing to put on her usual happy face. "You'll be going into the Hall of Fame for sure. I have complete faith in you." At that, he smiled warmly.

"That means more than I can say," he said, and at his sincere and grateful tone, she managed a genuine smile.

"So," he said. "This will be our final lesson. What would you like to learn about?" She considered for a rather long time before answering.

"I'd like to learn about the heart," she said at length. "You mentioned it last night, but I didn't bother to ask. What is the heart, and what does it do?"

"Well, the heart is the most important muscle in a living thing's body," he explained. "In every living creature, there are thousands of tiny tubes called veins which carry blood throughout the body. Blood carries nutrients to the various organs and muscles, so it's pretty important. However, it can't move on its own; it needs a pump. The heart is that pump. However, that's not all," he continued. "The heart also has a symbolic meaning to humans. Apparently, the heart is how humans feel love, and it's the symbol of affection and romance."

"Love…" she said softly, looking oddly wistful for a second. "What are some human customs concerning love?"

"Well, there are a few, and most actually stemmed from slightly more primal sources. For example, in a romantic relationship it is often the case that one of the two individuals will offer the other a gift, usually of flowers or something precious like gold. That came from the offering of a mating gift that Pokemon do."

"It's also common for humans to write love songs to each other, which I'm betting stemmed from mating calls. Human songs, though, are rather more melodious. Do not ask me to demonstrate, by the way; I have no singing voice at all." Rain could not help but laugh at that.

"Then there's dancing, which stemmed from the ritual mating dance. Human dancing is generally a bit more flourishing than that, though, and generally more formal, at least when it's two lovers dancing."

"Wait, don't tell me," she interrupted with a mischievous grin. "Don't ask you to demonstrate, because you can't dance to save your life, right?"

He laughed. "Is it that obvious?"

"However, there's one gesture that humans have that doesn't really compare to any mating ritual that Pokemon have, at least as far as I can tell. It's called kissing. Kissing is the placing of one's lips to another, generally to their lips or cheek. It's considered one of the most intimate gestures there are."

For some reason, this caused her to fall silent, and she sat with an odd look on her face for a moment. Zephyr briefly considered progging her emotions, but almost immediately rejected the idea. She wouldn't mind, seeing as that sort of thing was almost expected of the Ralts line, but he had decided long ago that he would not dare violate the sanctuary that was her heart. Besides, what fun would it be trying to figure out her thoughts if he could see them anyway?

"I don't suppose I could ask for a demonstration of that, could I?" she asked at length, seeming oddly nervous and uncertain for some reason.

Zephyr weighed his options for a moment. On the one hand, doing what he had just thought of could make him look like an idiot. If she didn't feel the way he did…well, dying of embarrassment would be putting it nicely. On the other hand, if she did, words would not be enough to describe his joy. Still, when he thought about it objectively, he was never going to see her again either way. Nothing much to lose. "I don't see why not," he said, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

The touch lasted for only a second, but in that second Zephyr felt as though his heart had skipped several beats. He felt happier than he could ever remember being, and even when he pulled away, he could have sworn he was hovering a few inches off the ground.

When he managed to focus on Rain again, he noticed that she was staring ahead as though she simply could not believe what had just happened, and her eyes seemed to look without seeing. Almost unconsciously, she slowly reached one hand up, touch the spot on her cheek where he had kissed her, and looked at it as though she didn't recognize her own fingers.

"…so that's a kiss," she said at length, in a very quiet voice.

"Yeah," Zephyr said. "…I think…I like it," she said, after another pause.

"Oh really?" Then he walked over to her, placing one hand lightly on her shoulder and the other on her cheek. He stared deep into her ruby red eyes, and in that moment, both knew beyond all possible doubt exactly what the other felt. "Then have another," he said, leaning in and meeting her lips with his.

This time he did not pull away, but continued to lean into the contact, and she leaned back, kissing him as hard as she could. The slight fleeting joy of a moment's past was completely forgotten. This was true bliss. Zephyr thought his heart must have grown wings and taken flight. In that space of time, nothing else existed. There was no forest, no city, nothing at all. The moon stopped shining. The wind ceased to blow, and there was nothing at all in the world except for him and her.

A thousand years seemed to pass as they stood there, and yet at the same time it seemed that time had stopped. How long they stood there, neither would ever be sure. When they finally did break apart, their arms were still entwined around each other, and each had eyes only for the one in front of them.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Both figures jumped and turned on the spot to see Zach standing about four feet away wearing a slightly bemused expression.

"Uh, hi Zach," Zephyr said sheepishly. Rain suddenly seemed to find the ground incredibly interesting. "What are you doing awake at this hour?"

"Oh come on, I'm not an idiot," Zach said with mock indignation. "Did you really think I wasn't going to notice how tired you've been getting? You've been like a zombie all week. Tonight I decided to stay up and see if I could figure out what was keeping you up all night. Imagine my surprise at what I found." Zephyr's face burned slightly while Rain continued to study the ground.

"Now Zephyr," Zach said, sounding a bit more serious now and not so teasing, "you've been my best friend these past few years or so. We have good times, and we've had bad times, but we've always been together. I've always done whatever I had to make you happy." Zephyr knew what was coming. Zach would tell him that he was better off with him and to just try and forget Rain. They were moving on to bigger and better things, yada yada yada. All he was going to hear was that he was leaving Rain behind. The thought hurt like a knife in his side.

"However, from what I've just seen, there is no doubt in my mind that no matter what I did, I could never make you as happy as she could," Zach continued, causing Zephyr to blanch. "I know that if I take you away from here, away from her, that you will never be happy again, and I could never do that."

"I want you to have this," Zach went on, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Poke ball, which he handed to Zephyr. He considered it for a moment, not understanding, and then the penny dropped.

"Is this-"?

"Your Poke ball," Zach confirmed. "As of this moment, I'm releasing you from my team and returning you to the wild."

Zephyr stared at the small red and white sphere in his hand. "I can't do this," he said. "I can't just walk out on you after everything you've done for me. You gave me my life back. You gave me a reason to live again. I owe you for all the times we've spent together. I owe you that spot in the Hall of Fame. I-" but Zach raised a hand, cutting him off.

"You don't owe me a thing Zephyr," he insisted. "If anything, I'm the one in your debt. You've carried me beyond anything that I ever thought I could be. It was you being by my side that made me believe I had a shot at the championship. You wouldn't believe this, but I never really thought that I would amount to anything before I met you. I didn't believe that I was any good as a Trainer. But you believed in me. You gave me your faith and your trust, and that gave me the chance to believe in myself. I owe you for every victory I've ever won, and this is my way of trying to pay you back."

Zephyr looked at the sphere in his hand again. "I don't know what to say." Zach put a hand on her shoulder.

"Say yes," he prompted. "Say that you'll stand by this woman's side and protect her. Tell me that you will love her every minute of every day, and that you will make sure she knows it. Say that you will stay with her, and that you will be happy."

Zephyr said nothing for a full minute. On the one hand, there was this beautiful, wonderful creature who made his heart glow just by being near her. On the other hand, there was his Trainer, who had been his friend for years. Both choices were wonderful, and yet terrible; wonderful because of what he would have, but terrible because of what he would leave behind. It was just like the choice he had made about his evolution: himself, or his friend.

But when Zephyr made that comparison in his mind, his choice almost made itself. Zach was doing the same thing he'd done before. He was putting Zephyr before himself. It was that kindness that had originally made Zephyr love him as a brother, and now he was showing it one last time.

He closed his fingers around the little ball that held so many fond memories, memories of a time that he would cherish for the rest of his life. "I will," he said, and then turned to look at Rain. "I will stay." The look on her face was one of pure radiance, and she threw herself at him, embracing him tightly. He put his arms around her in return and felt his heart swell.

He then looked back to Zach's face, and was no longer ashamed of the tears he was trying to hold back, because he could see that Zach was doing the same thing. Neither was sure who started the gesture, but suddenly both were giving each other a firm hug. "Goodbye, oh mighty Razorwind," Zach said in a choked voice. "So long Fearless Leader," Zephyr replied, his voice equally tremulous.

They stayed that way for a long moment, but eventually the two broke apart. Zach and Zephyr looked at each other, and even though Zephyr was glad of the choice he'd made, his heart still ached. Zach had given him his life back, his hope, his will to do something other than survive. They'd enjoyed so many incredible advetures together, achieved impossible victories, and won fame and glory wherever they went. Now he was leaving, and Zephyr was pretty sure that they would never see each other again.

Zach gave his final good-byes to the pair before heading off into the rising sun, picking up his team as he went. Zephyr and Rain stood watching as he left, hand in hand. He marched off into the rising sun, and Zephyr had no doubt in his mind that he would take that Championship. Every Trainer from here on out would know the name of Zach Edwards. Still, as he walked away, Zephyr could not help but feel that a part of him was leaving with him, and it hurt. "Goodbye Zach," he said to no one in particular. "I'll never forget you."

However, when next he looked at Rain, seeing her smiling face, the pain of seperation seemed to recede just a little. He knew that he would always miss Zach, but he also knew that he had made the right choice, the choice that would make him happiest. In that moment the pair locked eyes, and an unspoken vow of devotion passed between them.

"Well, come on," Rain said suddenly, turning and marching toward the forest. Zephyr followed obediently.

At that moment, Zach stopped and turned around just in time to see Zephyr disappear into the treeline. He knew he had done the right thing, letting him go to be with his mate, but it still hurt to see his best friend going away forever. "So long Zephyr," he said to no one in particular. "I'll never forget you." Then he turned and continued on his way, and soon he was lost to the horizon.

"Where are we going?" Zephyr asked after they had gone some ways into the woods. Rain laughed.

"Well, if we're going to be living together, I'll have to introduce you to the rest of my pack." Interpreting his shocked silence correctly, she laughed again. "Come on, you didn't really believe I was out here on my own, did you?" Zephyr now felt a little nervous.

"Do you think they'll like me?" he asked, causing her to laugh yet again.

"Don't be absurd. They'll love you."

-(000)-

"And so they did," Zephyr finished. It was late afternoon, and the shadow of the tree that they were still sitting under was now long across the meadow. Rain sighed contentedly as she continued to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Not as much as I do," she said, and he kissed her forehead.

"Well, isn't this sweet?" came a new voice from directly behind them, a voice that spoke of fear and and all the evil things of the darkness. A voice as cold and dark as the deepest pitch-black night.


	3. Living Nightmare

Waking Nightmare

The pair leapt away from the trunk of the tree as though it had suddenly been electrified. The new voice laughed. "Boo," it said tauntingly. Rain quickly stepped behind Zephyr, her face nervous but at the same time firm. "Who are you?" Zephyr demanded. "Why don't you show yourself?" There was a pause at this. "Alright then," the voice said at length.

Suddenly, the shadow of the tree started to writhe. As Rain and Zephyr watched, a portion of it seemed to rise off of the ground and balloon upward. As this blob of living darkness began to detach itself from the ground, it began to take more defined shape. Gradually, tendrils of shadow extended themselves from the mass and began to define themselves into wispy black arms with three fingers and flapping lengths of a vaguely cloth-like extension at the shoulders. The center of the blob condensed inward and quickly took on the shape of a man's torso, which abruptly ended at what seemed to be the torn hem of a cloak and with no legs of any kind. At the space where the neck would be, a sudden growth shot upward and formed itself into a necklace of upward-facing spikes, which changed from black to red. Finally, a smaller blob pulled itself upward from the top of the mass and began to take form into an almost flat looking face, with almost no significant features except for a crown of bleached white hair, which completely covered half of the face, revealing one cyan eye. The mane of hair extended backward into a long white tail, which billowed ominously despite the complete lack of wind.

Zephyr felt as though the bottom of his stomach had dropped out as the single visible cyan eye regarded them coldly. He knew who he was looking at. Zach had described him more than enough times. Hovering before them, exuding an almost palpable aura of fear and intimidation was the Master of Fear, the Prince of Darkness, and the Lord of Nightmares.

"What do you want Darkrai?" Zephyr asked, his tone firm but not harsh. Darkrai may not be the most pleasant of characters, and his job of spreading nightmares didn't do much to endear him to…well, anyone, but that didn't mean he had to be an evil person. Right? Behind him, Rain gave a little gasp as she heard Zephyr say his name.

"Oh, we have a learned individual, do we?" Darkrai chuckled. "How privileged. Well, whether you know who I am or not is completely irrelevant. I want nothing to do with _you_ in any case. What I am after," he said, suddenly pointing at Rain, "is you."

Zephyr suddenly felt himself get knocked to the side. Sitting up quickly, he saw Darkrai lunging at Rain, his claw an inch from her throat. "You stay away from my mate!" he roared, springing to his feet and charging at Darkrai. He barreled into the black shadow shoulder first, sending him careening off to the side. Darkrai was surprisingly light.

"Rain, get out of here," Zephyr said briskly. "He's a Dark Type. You won't be able to do anything to him. Get out of here now." But Rain for a face of hard determination.

"No. I'll die before I abandon you. Don't even try to convince me. You're my mate, and I will not save myself knowing that you might get killed." This pronouncement made Zephyr turn to her, surprised. He'd never taken Rain for a "girly-girl", as it were, but he'd never realized just how tough she actually was. He liked it.

Unfortunately, Zephyr didn't have long to admire this, because at that moment Darkrai lunged at him, his fingers now extended into cruelly scythed Shadowclaws. Zephyr extended his blades and blocked, but found himself quickly being pushed backward. Darkrai might be light, but he was strong, and he was forcing Zephyr to take step after step backward in order to avoid being knocked over. 'Oh great,' Zephyr thought. 'Now what do I do?'

At that moment Zephyr suddenly heard the sound of sparking electricity. However, he didn't spare the noise much thought, having more pressing matters at hand. Suddenly though, there was a loud _ZAP_ as an electrified green fist collided with the side of Darkrai's head, causing him to sail to the left and land flat on his back.

Zephyr looked with astonishment at Rain, whose hand was still sparking fiercely. "Thunderpunch?!" he asked, sounding stunned. "Where did you learn Thunderpunch?" She grinned devilishly. "What, I'm not allowed to find a Technical Machine lying around? Granted, I didn't know what it was at the time, but it didn't take me long to figure out that the little disk was the reason I was suddenly able to electrify my hand."

At that moment, Darkrai managed to get into an upright hovering position. With an enraged snarl, he lunged at Rain with Shadowclaws extended, but was quickly sent reeling by a vicious Megapunch from Zephyr. Still snarling, he raised one hand toward Zephyr, palm facing outward, and fired a Shadow Ball. Zephyr stepped smartly to the side and the black orb sailed past him, colliding with another tree about twenty feet away and causing it to explode. Suddenly, Darkrai was literally knocked for a loop as a rock the size of a man's head hurled itself at him and collided with his face.

Zephyr glanced over to seen Rain standing with a small fleet of attack stones hovering around her, all laced with a glowing blue aura. These she took the chance to hurl at Darkrai all at once while he was still disoriented. They all made contact, and Darkrai went sailing backward for about twenty feet before landing buried under the pile. In the next instant, the pile had exploded outward in a burst of black energy, and Darkrai floated in the middle of a small dusk cloud, looking positively apoplectic.

"You little insects!" he roared. "How dare you defy me?!" And then Zephyr was standing in front of him with one fist pulled back. "Like this," he said, delivering another powerful Megapunch to his face. Halting his horizontal movement after flying another ten feet backward, Darkrai seethed at Zephyr with a glare that might have turned some lower life forms to stone. A mouth had actually appeared on Darkrai's face, and its lips were pulled back in a ferocious snarl, revealing dagger sharp teeth.

"I'll turn you to dust!" Darkrai screamed, crossing his arms over his chest and starting to generate a veil of dark energy. Then he thrust his arms outward, and a black ring easily the thickness of a small car expanded out and away from him, hurtling toward Zephyr at terrifying speeds. 'Oh shit,' he thought, using one particular word that would have earned him a slap from Zach had he still been around. 'This is gonna hurt.'

The Dark Pulse was right on top of him in seconds, and Zephyr closed his eyes, bracing himself for the explosion of pain. However, what he felt instead was a pair of arms wrapping around him, and then he couldn't feel much of anything at all. In the next moment, though, feeling returned, and when Zephyr did not feel himself get blasted apart, he opened his eyes to see Rain standing with her arms around him. He looked behind him to see the inside of the Dark Pulse sweeping away from them, raging onward like some evil storm until it finally dissipated and ceased.

A furious howl of rage made Zephyr and Rain turn around. Darkrai was seething, and the aura of pure malevolence emanating from him was so think one could almost feel it. "What does it take to kill you?!" he roared. In the next second, he was lying face up on the ground. Zephyr was standing on both of his arms and held one hand to his throat while the other was pointed at his face, the blade gleaming dangerously. "More than you have," Zephyr said. "Now get out of here, and leave my mate alone." The tone of Zephyr's voice was as hard as steel, and the glare he leveled at Darkrai could have frozen water.

"You think this is over, you insolent brat?" Darkrai asked mockingly. "You can't defeat me. A mere mortal like you has no chance against me; I'm a god, you fool. I will have her. I will come for her again, and you will not be able to save her." Suddenly, he melted down into the ground, becoming a shadow again. Zephyr stood staring at a black patch on the ground that stayed for only a moment before whizzing away, quickly being lost from view.

Zephyr stayed crouched there for another minute, his body tense and every muscle in him on hair trigger sensitivity. Gradually, however, the tightness in his body drained away, his adrenaline levels returned to normal, and he breathed a massive sigh of relief. He stood up and waved to Rain, whose face broke into a relieved grin as she began to run toward him.

Zephyr never saw where the attack from. One moment, everything was perfect, but suddenly it all fell apart. A burst of back energy appeared around Rain and almost instantly formed an opaque black sphere around her. The Dark Void continued to envelop her for a few seconds, and then it condensed inward, being absorbed into her chest. Rain was frozen in mid step, her pupils wide and her eyes unseeing. Suddenly, every muscle in her body went limp and her eyes closed as she pitched forward and fell into the waiting arms of Darkrai, who rose up from the ground and caught her lightly as she fell.

The shock of what had just happened only lasted for a second before Zephyr was back in action. He charged at Darkrai, closing the gap between them in less than a second as the he screamed, "You let her go, you son of a bitch!" Zach would have slapped him for that one, too.

His arm blade was an inch from the back of Darkrai's head. There was no way he could dodge, or even react. Right? Suddenly, Zephyr felt as though his chest had been doused with acid. He staggered backward and looked down to see three deep gashes in his chest, freely leaking blood. He looked up at Darkrai to see him floating with Rain over one shoulder. His other hand, which had been re-morphed into a Shadowclaw, was being waved tauntingly at Zephyr. It was covered with blood. His blood. Zephyr hadn't even seen Darkrai move.

Suddenly, a cyan eye narrowed in a piercing leer was the only thing Zephyr could see, and then his head exploded. He fell to his knees as his hands flew to his scalp. They came away bloody.

"I told you that you had no chance," Darkrai said, his tone no longer angry but amusedly disdainful. "For a mortal like you to challenge a god like me is nothing more than on your part." Darkrai then pointed a single finger at Zephyr, who watched as another Shadow Ball began to grow. He couldn't move. He couldn't dodge.

Zephyr flew backward as the orb collided with him and exploded, landing hard on his back. His body no longer hurt; he was past feeling pain. Struggling weakly, he barely managed to turn himself over and get onto his hands in knees in time to see Darkrai rise into the air and fly away, taking Rain with him.

Zephyr didn't move for a short time. Then he threw back his head, clutching at his temples, and screamed. He howled for a surprisingly long time before suddenly he started to cough, falling back on all fours. He put his hand over his mouth to staunch the coughing, and when he was finished, it was covered with red ooze.

"Zephyr?! Rain?!" Zephyr was suddenly dimly aware that a pair of voices was calling his and Rain's names, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered except that Rain was gone, lost to the clutches of that black monster. He didn't even register when two individuals ran up to his side, babbling something he could barely understand.

"Oh my Arceus," said a male Gardevoir as he saw Zephyr crouching in a pool of his own blood. His companion, a Gallade, knelt next to Zephyr's head. "What happened here?" he asked quickly. "Gone…" Zephyr gasped. "She's gone. He took her. He-" He broke off as he starting coughing again, splattering the ground with scarlet spray. He fell to the ground, all his strength gone. Black was creeping over his vision now, and he knew he was going to die. "Rain…" he moaned, and then the world became an empty void.

"He's badly hurt," the unnamed Gallade said, gently lifting his shoulders. "No, really?" asked the Gardevoir sardonically, who had a tendency to use sarcasm as a coping mechanism in times of stress. He lifted Zephyr's feet gingerly, raising him off the ground. "We need to get him to the healer now, or he's as good as dead. You saw how much blood he's lost."

-(000)-

Far away already, over a vast expanse of unforgiving sea, Rain lay draped over Darkrai's shoulder as his sped back to his home, shuddering at the horrible nightmare she was experiencing. In her mind's eye, she could see Zephyr lying in a bloody heap on a bed, and she knew beyond any doubt that he was dying. She tried to call to him, but her voice made no sound. She tried to approach him, but her body would not move. She tried to cry for him, but she couldn't even do that. All she could do was watch as his breathing slowed, and then stopped altogether.

-(000)-

_Bwuhahahaha! Cliffhanger!_


	4. Imprisoned

Imprisoned

The first thing Zephyr noticed was that there was nothing to notice, just a great black void. He was standing in the middle of an endless expanse of darkness in which there seemed to be absolutely nothing. He pivoted slowly on the spot, trying to find something, _anything_ at all.

And he did. Suddenly, he noticed a small white…something way off in the distance. He began to walk towards it slowly, and as he drew closer, it began to take more and more focus. Finally, when he was about ten feet away, he suddenly able to make it out, and he gasped. It was Rain.

She was just standing there, completely immobile and seemingly unaware of anything. Immediately Zephyr began to run towards her, but suddenly his body seemed to be getting heavier. And was it just him, or did it seem like the air was getting thicker, resisting him? Sooner it felt as though he was trying to run underwater with thirty-pound weights strapped to his legs. He kept trying to move forward, but it only continued to get more difficult, and as he watched, her body began to become clearer, transparent. She was fading away.

"Rain! No!" he shouted, struggling harder against the nothing that was holding him back. He was almost there. He reached out his arm, his fingers an inch from her hand…and suddenly, a thick black tentacle lashed up from the ground and snared his arm. He tried desperately to break free, tried to reach out to her as she continued to slowly vanish, but the like tendril held his arm in a grip of iron.

Suddenly, a new tentacle lashed up and snared his neck. His other hand flew to it, trying to rip it off but it was completely useless. More Tentacles were reaching up and snaring various parts of his body, binding him and pulling him down. The ground beneath him was no longer solid, but gooey and viscous, like tar. The tentacles were slowly pulling him down into this goo, and he could feel it swallowing up his legs even as he continued to thrash.

"Rain!" he called again, but she did not respond. The slime was up to his chest now and still rising. He tried to pull his leg were, but it was like wading through tar. The shadow was up to his neck. He opened his mouth to call Rain again, but instead he spluttered helplessly as the goo passed over his lips and into his mouth. It was covering his face now, seeping into his mouth and nose. He couldn't breath, and no matter how much he struggled the goo continued to slowly swallow him up. The last thing he saw before the tar covered his face completely was Rain's body, as transparent as glass and he knew that he had lost her again.

-(000)-

A thousand miles away, Rain jerked awake with a gasp of horror. She could still see the haunting image of Zephyr lying immobile and lifeless on some bed of leaves. 'Calm down,' she ordered herself. After all, it was only a dream, right? Zephyr had to be alive still. She was his mate; she would know if he were dead, right?

Finally, when her breathing seemed to return to manageable levels, she took the time to look around and get her bearings. She was lying against the wall of a fairly large crater surrounded by frail looking trees. No vegetation grew within the pit, and instead rocks of various sizes were strewn about it. The most noticeable feature of this area, though, was a large circle of water in roughly the center of the area. The puddle (or was it a lake? Rain couldn't tell) was a pale shade of blue, and though it was clean it hardly looked inviting to either enter or drink from.

"Well, well, so you're awake at last," called a voice that Rain had already learned to despise with everything she had. As she looked up, an icy glare in her eyes, Darkrai extricated himself from the ring of trees and descended slowly to rest hovering just above the surface of the water. He waved his hands around to encompass the area. "What do you think?" he asked. "Quaint, no?"

"Where am I Darkrai?" she spat, her tone thick with venom. Darkrai waggled a finger at her in the universal gesture of "naughty, naughty. Mustn't do that."

"Now, now," he said in a mock reproving tone. "Is that any way to treat your gracious host?" Rain leered at him.

"I would think so," she returned, if your gracious host also happens to be your kidnapper." Darkrai may a slight "tut tut" noise.

"My, you are a feisty one," he said. "I'm afraid that I'll have to work that out of you. Anyway, to answer your rather rudely put question, we are currently at my humble abode of Newmoon Island. It's quite lovely, isn't it?"

"What do you want with me?" she snapped, causing Darkrai to chuckle amusedly.

"Well, I suppose I _could _tell you," he replied, "but it's just so much more fun to keep you in the dark. I'm afraid you won't know what I have in mind for you until it's much too late."

"Well, whatever you're planning, it won't matter," she said. "Zephyr's going to come for me, and he'll rip you to shreds when he does." At this, Darkrai laughed out loud.

"Oh, come now," he said, barely suppressing his mirth. "You can't be serious. That little prick? He's dead. I killed him myself. I'm just sorry you weren't awake to see it. Your endless despair would be oh so _delicious_." This last word he said with relish, as though he were actually contemplating a scrumptious delicacy.

"You're wrong I know he's still alive. He'll come for me," she said, suddenly hoping that Darkrai wouldn't realize that she was saying this not only to convince him, but herself as well. The image from her nightmares had suddenly thrust itself upon her.

"Well, even if he is, there's no way he'll be able to take you away," Darkrai said, sounding completely unconcerned. "In the first place, we're on an island in the middle of the ocean at least 150 miles from the nearest major landmass. How is he supposed to get here, exactly? Secondly, even if he does somehow find a way to reach us, I'll just tear him apart as soon as he arrives. Even if you weren't awake to see it, you must have realized that the fact that you're here means that I've already defeated him once. How hard will it be to do it again?""

But Rain would not give in to despair. She had every confidence in her mate, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would come for her. If he was still alive. 'No!' she told herself firmly. 'Do not think like that. He _is _alive!'

"Now, eat those berries next to you," Darkrai suddenly said, turning to look away. "You're no good to me dead." Begrudgingly, Rain looked to her left to see a small pile of Sitrus berries and suddenly realized that she was indeed very hungry. Loath though she was to accept anything from this monster she knew she had to eat, so she plucked a few of them off the pile and shoved them into her mouth, trying hard not to enjoy the wonderfully sweet flavor.

"It's a pity, though," Darkrai said, and Rain looked to see that he was staring at the sky with his back still turned. Rain took the chance to quickly glance around the crater. Aha, now that might do the trick. "The eve of the new moon was last night," Darkrai went on, still not looking at her. "I'm afraid we'll have to wait out the month until the next one appears. Just one more month, and then you'll be mine forever."

Rain was now on her feet with one hand stretched in front of her, fingers glowing blue. "I'd sooner kiss a Slugma," she said before a small rock came hurtling from the side of the pit and slammed into the back of Darkrai's head. The sudden impact startled him so much that he fell out of the air and landed face down in the puddle, which was deep enough to half submerge him. He burst out of the water with a great splash, swearing an oath that would have made a sailor blush with embarrassment. He quickly spun around the see a small pile of berries lying all by its lonesome at the edge of the pit.

"You little bitch," he snarled to himself before floating into the air and into the trees. "You are going to be a handful," he called loudly, making sure she could hear him. "However, it doesn't matter what you do because you can't escape me. We're on an island, remember? There's no way you can Teleport far enough away to reach any kind of landmass. And don't get your hopes up about hitching a ride with a Water type, either. They're all too scared of me to come within four miles of this place. Face it: you're stuck here."

'Maybe I am,' Rain thought as she watched him float past the spot where she was hiding in the foliage. 'Maybe I can't get away.'

At that moment, a small pebble bumped into the side of Darkrai's head. He turned quickly and began to hover slowly toward the spot where it had flown from. So intent was he on the hunt that he didn't notice the branch that was being held back by a blue aura until it suddenly swung forward and smashed him in the face, hard. He went sailing backward and with an _oof_ slammed into the trunk of another tree.

'But I can make your life a living hell as long as I'm here,' Rain concluded before Teleporting to the other side of the island. 'Zephyr, please be all right, and please hurry. I only have a month.'

-(000)-

_More cliffhangers!_


	5. I Will Find You

I Will Find You

"Ugh…" Zephyr mumbled unintelligibly as his brain slowly regained focus. Where was he, anyway? He was looking up at a green canopy of treetops, which meant that he was lying on his back. Huh, that was odd. You didn't usually find many trees in the meadow, right? And where was Rain? He remembered being with her. They'd been walking along and he'd been telling her the story of how they'd fallen in love. She always loved to hear him tell that story. They had been sitting under a tree in the meadow and everything had been perfect. Then Darkrai had showed up and-

In that instant all haze vanished from Zephyr's mind and was instead replaced by cold dread. Darkrai had come. Darkrai had attacked them. Darkrai had kidnapped Rain! What the hell was he doing lying on his back sleeping when his mate was in mortal peril?! He should be following them. He was supposed to save her!

Zephyr immediately snapped into an upright sitting position and was about to jump to his feet when he let out an involuntary cry of pain. He hissed as his hand flew to his chest, feeling the newly formed scabs on the wounds in his chest split open at his sudden movement. In the next moment a solid wall of pain crashed over his body like a tidal wave. He felt as though someone had hit every piece of his body with a sledgehammer. Zephyr turned to his left, leaned over the edge of the leaf bed that he had yet to realize that he was lying on, and threw up.

"Oh, for goodness' sake," said an exasperated voice as Zephyr felt a gentle but insistent telekinetic grip take hold of his shoulders. He didn't try to resist as he was forced to lie down again. Turning his head he saw a Gardevoir standing over him with an annoyed and yet relieved face. "I don't care how tough you may think you are, oh mighty Razorwind," she said. "You still need to heal like the rest of us."

"Sorry, Altrea," he replied with a weak chuckle. "No time for that." Her expression softened and she laughed.

"You have no idea how glad we are to see you awake again," she said, her tone warm. "The whole pack's been visiting you while you were unconscious. For a while we were afraid you weren't going to make it. You just stopped breathing and we couldn't feel a heartbeat."

"I guess Giratina couldn't handle me yet," Zephyr joked. Altrea looked at him blankly. "The lord of the dead," he explained. "Where am I anyway?"

"You're back at the nesting ground," she replied. "We brought you to the healer as fast as we could. Like I said, it was pretty bleak for a while, but once you started looking better she let us take you back here." The healer was a Blissey who happened to live in a patch of the forest very near to where the pack nested for the evenings. She was a very kind soul and gladly tended to any injuries the pack members might receive.

"Now," Altrea questioned, her tone losing its warmth and becoming serious, "What happened to my daughter? We couldn't find her anywhere no matter how hard we searched. We can't sense her either. It's like she just vanished."

"I'm afraid you won't find her," Zephyr murmured sadly. He then explained what had happened. As he spoke Altrea's face grew even more and more horrified.

"No," she whispered in horror when he had finished. Her tone made Zephyr's heart break. "Not my Rain. Why her? Why?" Her hand suddenly went to her cheek and she turned away, but not before Zephyr saw the tears she was holding back. The sight hurt worse than anything Darkrai could ever have done to him might have.

The first person Rain had introduced Zephyr to when she'd brought him to meet the pack had been her mother, Altrea. She had immediately taken to Zephyr and had treated him like a son of sorts, introducing him to the customs of the pack. She'd always been a maternal figure to him, and seeing her like this when it was his fault was sheer torture.

"I'm sorry," he said in a voice heavy with sadness. "I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't protect her even though I promised her I always would. It's my fault she's gone." He tried to get up again, tried to go to her side and comfort her. Instead he hissed in pain again as his chest wounds smarted harshly.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said, still looking away. "If Darkrai's half as powerful as you always said he was you're lucky to even be alive. You did the best you could. It isn't your fault." Even so, this still did little to relieve Zephyr's conscience.

He lay back again with a sigh. "I don't understand," he said. "Darkrai isn't the most cheerful character but this just isn't like him. At least, the legends never portrayed him like this. And then there's the Alamos incident. I told you about that, right? He risked his life and almost lost it fighting the deities of space and time to protect a town that hated him, just because one person had shown him some kindness years ago. Why would he suddenly go around kidnapping people?"

"I don't know," Altrea said. "How would I? But one thing I do know is that you're going to find out." At this she turned to look at him again. "I can tell. You aren't going to rest until you figure it out and bring Rain back home." She gave a smile. "And I know you can."

"But that's going to have to wait until you've finished healing," she went on in a brisk tone. "You're no good to anybody in the shape you're in. I will not let you out of my sight until I say that you're fit to go."

Zephyr leaned his head back with a sigh and a small laugh. "Yes, mother," he said playfully, causing her to laugh too. "I have one question though. How long was I out?"

"Well, just two days," she replied. "It's quite incredible really. When I saw the shape you were in I thought you'd be unconscious for a week at least. Now, enough talking. You may be healing quickly but you still need your rest."

-(000)-

Rain leaned against the bark of a tree from her perch high in its branches. It was evening on Newmoon Island, the only time she could get some sleep. If Darkrai didn't leave his island every night to spread his nightmares Rain was very sure that she would have been caught by now. Unlike him, she needed to sleep. She always took the chances when he was away at night and sometimes during the day to catch a few hours of hurried rest.

As she tried futilely to both get into a more comfortable position and put the bitter taste of her dinner out of her mind-Darkrai must've brought the Sitrus berries from somewhere else because all that grew on Newmoon Island were a few scraggly Aguav berry bushes- her thoughts wandered to Zephyr as they did every evening.

"Please Arceus," she whispered. "Please let him be okay." It is often said that wishes do not come true, but Rain hoped that Arceus would make an exception for her despite how far away she was. After all, her Wish wasn't for herself, but the one she loved.

-(000)-

It took Zephyr another three days to heal completely. Most of that time was spent asleep but he managed to regain consciousness a few times. Altrea was always there when he awoke and he strongly suspected that she stayed even when he was asleep. It was clear that she didn't blame Zephyr for what had happened to her daughter. Because of this, although he still felt understandably miserable about it, eventually he stopped feeling quite so guilty.

Instead, he developed a burning resolve and all his thoughts were focused on one goal. He would save Rain. He would make Darkrai suffer for what he had done. He didn't care how long it took or how hard it became. If he had to cross all of Sinnoh and beyond, then he would.

Finally Zephyr was fully healed. His chest was badly scarred but beyond that he looked as healthy as ever. Thankfully the preparations to leave were almost nonexistent, and he was ready to set out before the sun rose on the fourth day.

"Be careful," Altrea said softly as Zephyr stood at the edge of the woods with a small woven bag of food slung over his shoulder. The whole pack was there to see him off, and every face wore a sad expression. Such a scene would be touching under any circumstances, but for Zephyr it was so much more moving because he could feel the genuine sadness of each and every one of them as though it was his own. As the members of the Ralts evolutionary line grew and developed their power to sense emotions became stronger. For a fully matured Gallade it was like feeling the emotions himself. This much palpable sadness was almost overpowering.

"I will," he replied. "And I promise I'll bring her back home safely." She gave a grateful smile before kissing him softly on the cheek. Zephyr had shared most of his human knowledge with the pack by now, but that gesture was the first thing they had taken to.

"Goodbye, Mr. Zephyr," said one of the young Ralts. Zephyr smiled as he walked over to the little one and tousled his hair affectionately.

"See you around, Birch," he replied. "You stay out of trouble, okay?" The little one nodded.

Zephyr stood again and cast one last glance around at the people who had shown him a new, wonderful way of life. No, more than that. They had welcomed him into it with open arms. They had greeted him like a long lost brother and accepted him with warm smiles and friendly greetings. Never once had he felt unwanted or unwelcome. Looking around at these people Zephyr felt as though he was back home with his old pack, surrounded by the friends and family that he had lost. He opened his mouth to say something but the words died in his throat. So instead he turned, hefted his little leaf satchel higher on his shoulder, and set off. Various cries of "Good luck," and "We'll miss you," sounded behind him as he went.

'I promise you Rain,' Zephyr thought as he walked. 'I will do whatever it takes to bring you back.' His hand strayed to his neck where it closed around Zach's Poke ball, which he had fashioned into a necklace and was now wearing around his neck. 'I will find you.'


	6. On the First Day

On the First Day

Darkrai sighed softly to himself as he swept around yet another tree to find no Gardevoir. This was beginning to seriously irritate him. Honestly, how did she manage to elude him all day? Newmoon Island was so small that it could be circled on foot in a day. Yet he had been combing every inch of the Arceus-forsaken rock for five of them and had still not recaptured that irritating little girl.

Darkrai sighed again and leaned against the trunk of the tree he had just swept around, extending a pair of spindles from his lower region to facilitate the action. He then asked himself, not for the first time, if it was really worth putting up with this girl and her irritations. Admittedly she was very unique, and it was this fact that had led Darkrai to capture her in the first place. Still, surely there must be someone, somewhere who had the same quality as her without being so very headstrong and difficult to deal with.

A sudden rustling in the bushes to his left caught Darkrai's attention. Smoothly and silently he melded backward into the tree until he was nothing more than a black patch on its bark. The blackness slid down the trunk and across the ground until it had passed through the bushes. Well, what do you know? Speak of the devil and up he comes.

The girl was hiding in the bushes with her back to the place where he had just been. Oh, this was just too perfect. Darkrai could just imagine what would happen as he moved to a spot behind her and silently became physical again. He would float up behind her, soundless, and grab her. She would scream with fright before he quickly subdued her and carried her unconscious body back down into the central pit of the island. Once there he would make sure she was properly secured so that she would not be able to repeat this little stunt.

Darkrai was now an arm's length away from the girl and still she had noticed nothing. If his mouth had been visible in that moment, it would have been smiling wickedly. He reached slowly forward with one hand and clamped down on her shoulder.

-(000)-

_Creak. _

_Creak. _

_Cre-CRACK! _"What the-?!"

_SNAP! "ARRRGH!"_

_THUD! "…ow."_

Flocks of Pidgey and Starly scattered into the air with loud chirps of fright as a large tree branch suddenly detached itself from its tree and crashed to the forest floor below, taking with it the unfortunate Gallade that had been standing on it.

Zephyr lay draped over the branch that had broken out from him for a short while, moaning softly. Eventually the dull ache in his chest subsided and he dragged himself into a kneeling position as he rubbed his throbbing head. Well, _that_ certainly could have gone better.

"I'm gonna have a killer headache in an hour," he said to himself as he continued to rub his temple gingerly. He then glared at the offending branch. "How's that for irony? I survive a direct assault from the Lord of Nightmares, and yet a tree branch almost kills me. I mean, really…"

Getting to his feet Zephyr looked upward to the canopy of trees and, not for the first time, cursed his complete lack of directional sense. Most wild Pokemon learned instinctively how to navigate by the sun in order to make seasonal migration to correct climate regions. Unfortunately, Zephyr had never picked up this knowledge because for the greater part of his life he had relied on Zach's PokeTech in order to navigate. This dependence on technology effectively squashed his instinctual knowledge and now he couldn't even tell what time it was, much less what direction he was going.

Zephyr exhaled dejectedly. At this rate it would take him almost a month to reach Canalave City. Who was the genius who decided to put Sinnoh's largest and most all-encompassing library all the way out on the west coast? Why couldn't it be a little more inland? Wouldn't that have made more sense?

The fact of the matter was that Zephyr's battle with Darkrai had seriously shaken him. He knew that as he was he stood absolutely no chance against the Lord of Nightmares. If he were to ever have even a chance at saving his mate he would either have to become much stronger or find someone to help him in his quest. Zephyr knew full well that at the rate he developed it would take several years before he was even in Darkrai's league. The thought of leaving Rain in the clutches of that monster for even a day was almost physically painful.

That left the second option: find someone to help. However, therein also lay the problem of Darkrai's outright strength. How could he possibly find who would be equal, or even close to Darkrai's level of power?

Zephyr had spent every waking moment of his three healing days pondering the issue. Normal Pokemon were immediately thrown out of the equation. For an absurd moment he had considered gathering an army, but that was impractical on so many levels it was almost funny. The answer would have to be another Great One.

Unfortunately, that choice also had its share of problems to overcome. The first issue would be whom he would be able to find and ask. Even if Arceus herself were willing to help it would do no good if he were unable to ask her. This effectively meant that any Great One who did not reside in Sinnoh was out of the question.

The second issue was willingness. Who among his potential candidates would be willing to help, and of that select few, who would be able to handle Darkrai? The Lake Trio was immediately rejected. Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie would probably agree to help but they were all pure Psychic types and so would only be a detriment. Regigigas was no good because he was currently asleep in Snowpoint Temple and Zephyr had no way to communicate with the princes of ice, rock, or steel. Perhaps Palkia or Dialga might be of some help, but it was highly unlikely that either of them would trouble themselves with the matters of a mere mortal. They had all of time and space to take care of, after all. Giratina would most likely eat him on the spot just for bothering him. Arceus probably wouldn't even let him through the front door.

The situation looked pretty hopeless. Again and again Zephyr ran through every Great One that he could remember but none of them seemed like workable candidates. He found himself one day thinking over a passage that Zach had once read him from an ancient document describing Darkrai.

'It moves unseen through darkness and void, living shade. Thy secret terrors and frights it knows, and unto thee it shall deliver visions most horrid. Master of the night, none dare to challenge it, save-" and then it simply cut off, the rest of the words illegible or gone entirely.

'They got that right,' Zephyr had thought as he lay in a semi-conscious state. 'None dare to challenge it.' He lay feeling dejected and hopeless and very tired, and it was a few moments before the penny dropped.

'Wait, 'Save-'? Save what?' Zephyr had sat bolt upright at the realization and once again felt the stinging smart of his still-healing chest wounds. Mumbling to Altrea, who had looked at him with concern at his sudden movement, that it was only a bad dream, he had lain back down with his mind working furiously. The document clearly went on to say more and from that one word it was clear that what followed was a description of something that could and would challenge Darkrai. Come to think of it, hadn't Zach once said something to that effect? Hadn't Zach said that there were two Great Ones associated with the moon?

The more Zephyr thought about it, the more it seemed that this was his option, his way of saving Rain. This being seemed almost to have been created for the sole purpose of keeping Darkrai in check. Surely it would be willing to reign in its counterpart no matter how trivial the issue, and it would most definitely be suited for the task.

Unfortunately, that was all that Zephyr could manage to recall. He'd never really been able to remember the details of all the Great Ones, what with there being at least thirty and all. In fact, he still sometimes managed to get Jirachi and Celebi mixed up in his mind. Try though he might Zephyr simply could not recall so much as a name.

For perhaps a day Zephyr had lain in dejected defeat, certain that his only chance had slipped away from him simply because he had a bad memory for this sort of thing. He wished more than anything that he could just look up the answer in an encyclopedia or something. That was what had made him think of the Canalave Library. It was, without a doubt, the most comprehensive library on Sinnoh legends. If he couldn't find what he was looking for there, then it was a lost cause. The Canalave library thus became his primary goal on his quest, which meant that he had to go west.

Unfortunately, Zephyr could as easily have leapt over the moon as told you what direction was west right now. Still, he could hardly just sit here and mope about it so he picked a direction that seemed more or less right. With a resigned sigh he began to march.

-(000)-

Darkrai groaned slightly as the sun suddenly moved out from behind a cloud and glared brightly into his eyes, ripping him suddenly and rather unpleasantly back to consciousness. He slowly hoisted himself off the ground and resumed his usual hovering height of about four feet, massaging his head as he did so. He was surprised to find that his whole body ached. What had happened to him?

His memory seemed a bit fuzzy for some reason, but gradually the focus sharpened. The last thing he could recall had been the girl. Yes, he'd found her hiding in the bushes and had slipped behind her. Then he'd reached out to grab her and drag her back with him. It took Darkrai a moment longer to remember what had occurred after that, but eventually it came to him. The memory made him groan out loud.

The moment he had placed his hand on the girl's shoulder she had grabbed it with both of her own. Then, with an almighty heave she had swung him over her shoulder and slammed him into the ground very hard indeed. Just when he had barely managed to register just how much that had hurt she had knelt over him, wound back and slugged him in the face with an electrified fist. Everything after that was black.

Darkrai growled with irritation. Normally he was not one to show emotion unless he wanted to. In fact, if there had ever been a contest for the most stoic living thing on Earth, it would quickly have been canceled because the only person who would ever win would have been him. The angry display he had made in front of that Gallade had merely been to give him false confidence and thus make him easier to kill.

But that girl…she was irritating on a level that Darkrai had not encountered for countless years, and she was actually managing to get under his skin. Only one other person had ever managed to do that to him. Not for the first time, Darkrai wondered whether it might not be better just to kill her and find another subject for the ritual, preferably one who was not so headstrong. However, currently that was not an option because he _had_ no other subject for the ritual, and they weren't exactly ten a penny. Still, Darkrai knew that if he ever found another usable victim that girl would disappear from his island faster than a chocolate bar in front of Mew, and _that_ was very fast indeed. Whether or not she left with her life was not really his concern.

-(000)-

"Oh, for Arcues' sake! You have _got_ to be kidding me!"

Zephyr leered caustically at the tree branch that he had noticed about three minutes ago. Shortly after noticing it he had realized that it was the same tree branch that had fallen out from under him while he had been standing in the tree attempting to get his bearings about an hour back. It didn't take a very high IQ to figure out that this effectively meant that Zephyr had walked in a very large circle.

Zephyr continued to glare at the branch for about another minute, but it only lay there innocently. Finally, with a resigned sigh Zephyr looked away and sat down on a nearby tree stump. He'd known that he would never be a mapmaker, but he'd never believed that his directional skill was _this _bad. At this rate he wouldn't even make it out of the forest. Some savior he was turning out to be.

At that precise moment a wicked chuckle sounded directly behind Zephyr. With a startled yelp he leapt off the stump like a scalded cat, certain that Darkrai had found him and was about to kill him. It took him a moment to realize that the thing that had made the noise was only a small Croagunk. Zephyr heaved a huge sigh of relief and relaxed his battle posture, trying as he did so to convince himself that his reaction had not been at all undignified.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" asked the Croagunk in a low voice. Its tone was not one that inspired very pleasant images. "Looks like an intruder."

"Well, I apologize for entering your territory," said Zephyr. "It was not my intention to encroach." He turned away from the Croagunk and started to walk away. However, he had only gone about ten steps when another Croagunk sidled out from under the foliage.

"We don't like intruders," it said, and from its voice Zephyr could tell that it was female. However, this did not in any way make her seem less intimidating. Admittedly, Zephyr didn't feel very threatened by her in the first place, but she wasn't exactly doing her best to roll out the welcome wagon.

"Well, then you'll be happy to know that I have no intention of staying," Zephyr replied. He again turned and began to walk away before finding his path blocked by a third Croagunk.

"I think we need to show him what we do to intruders," it said in a male voice. By this point Zephyr was starting to get seriously annoyed.

"You three do realize that I'm about as tall as two of you stacked on top of each other, right?" he asked in a tone that just barely concealed his irritation. "As a general rule of thumb, it's not smart to mouth off to something bigger than you." With a sigh and a slight rolling of his eyes Zephyr turned in yet another direction and stopped dead.

A crowd of no less than 15 Croagunks was staring at him with eyes that spoke of less than friendly intentions. The middle finger of each and every hand was glowing purple and seeping thick, gelatinous purple goo. In a moment the first three had joined their comrades and taken up battle positions. There was a slight pause, and then with a great hiss each and every one of them lunged at Zephyr, Poison Jabs extended with the obvious intent to maim. It would take less than five seconds for them to cross the distance between themselves and the Gallade.

In that space of time Zephyr was able to roll his eyes, yawn tiredly and crack his knuckles. He then extended one arm blade and held in directly in front of his face. Almost immediately it began glowing with white energy. When the first few Croagunks were about a foot away Zephyr slashed diagonally through the air. A crescent of pure white energy was expelled from his arm and cleaved straight through the swarm of angry frogs. Each and every Croagunk chattered with pain as they were thrown to the ground by the Psycho Cut, gashes appearing in their skin were they had been struck. Not a single one had avoided the attack.

"You've got to be kidding me," Zephyr said as he rolled his eyes at his would-be assailants. Well, they had been annoying. He retracted his arm blade, then turned on the spot and stopped dead again. A group of at least 20 fully matured Toxicroaks were standing ten feet away with identical leers on their faces. Each and every claw-like middle finger was glowing purple.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

-(000)-

Rain appeared in a small white flash, quickly scanning around in an effort to spot Darkrai. She seemed to be alone for now. Of course, there was no way to be sure since she was unable to sense him. Being a Dark-Type meant that he was completely immune to any of her psychic powers, even something as simple as progging.

This fact had almost cost her dearly, seeing as he'd managed to sneak right up behind her without her noticing. If he'd taken the chance to outright attack her instead of just scare her, she'd have been at his mercy for sure. Still, she reflected, some good had come of it. She'd learned to be more careful. Also, there was something undeniably satisfying about feeling her knuckles crack as her fist slammed into Darkrai's face.

She would have to start making preparations. Just running and dodging wasn't going to keep her out of his clutches for very long, as she'd learned today. If she wanted to stay safe, she'd have to leave Darkrai a few surprises across the island. She didn't know much about guerrilla warfare, but she could learn. She would start as soon as Darkrai left that evening. Now, what had Zephyr taught her about setting up tripwires?

-(000)-

A Toxicroak lunged straight at Zephyr, only to be dropped by a punch that came so fast he didn't even see it. Zephyr then bent forward at the waist just in time to let another Toxicroak go sailing over his head directly into one of his comrades. Turning on the spot, Zephyr delivered three X-slashes to three different Toxicroaks in the space of a few seconds. They fell and did not get up.

Just then Zephyr hissed in pain as a Poison Jab caught him directly in the side. He immediately grabbed the offender by the arm and swung him into one of his friends before hurling him into a tree. Unfortunately, he had not been fast enough to avoid the injection of venom that accompanied the attack. He could feel the poison start to course through his veins, but he couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

Fortunately, the group of attacking frogs had been thinned out significantly, which gave Zephyr room to be a little more decisive with his takedowns, and cooler as well. He raised his fist over his shoulder just in time to make it collide with the face of a Toxicroak that had tried to jump him from behind. He then proceeded to deliver a swift rabbit punch that he ended with a vicious slice to the abdomen, causing the frog to drop like so many bricks. Immediately afterward he delivered a roundhouse kick directly into the face of another Toxicroak that had made the mistake of getting within attacking range. At this moment yet another poison frog leapt down from a tree and landed on top of Zephyr, punching him as hard and as fast as he could. One whirlwind grapple later and he had been thrown upside down into the trunk of a tree.

Another Toxicroak made the mistake of charging directly at Zephyr. However, instead of taking the easy approach and simply dropping him with a swift attack Zephyr ran away from him and directly toward a tree, making sure to lower his running speed so as to not get too far ahead of his victim. When he reached the tree with Toxicroak in hot pursuit he ran straight up the trunk. When he was about seven vertical feet up and pushed off, made several very quick rolling flips in midair, then drove both his feet into the back of the frog's skull before landing lightly on all fours. The unfortunate Toxicroak was propelled face first into the tree, leaving a rather nice dent in its trunk.

Without missing a beat Zephyr leapt into the air and delivered a powerful helicopter kick that struck three different Toxicroak out of the air as they all lunged at him at once. Only one more was still standing at this point. Zephyr marched swiftly up to him and, before he had even registered what was happening, hauled back and proceeded to throw punch after punch after punch. His arm was a green blur as he rained blows at the poor punching bag of a frog. After about ten seconds Zephyr stopped and looked his opponent over. He was standing with a dazed expression and was clearly just about to fall over. Zephyr decided to help him, so he stepped forward and, making sure to retract his arm blade, elbowed his in the back of the head. His face hit the ground before his feet did.

Zephyr quickly scoured the area, searching for more opponents. Seeing none, he walked over to the spot where he had dropped his little berry satchel. The poison was getting stronger, and he needed to deal with it now. Already his chest was starting to hurt. He opened the little sewn leaf bag and reached inside, plucking out a pink heart shaped berry. He studied the Pecha berry for a second, then opened his mouth to toss it inside.

He then leapt in the air and performed another helicopter kick, which collided directly with the face of the one remaining Toxicroak, who had tried to do what several others had failed at, meeting no better success. He was propelled through the air into the trunk of a tree, and was unconscious before he had hit the ground. Zephyr landed lightly, his face showing absolutely no change in expression.

"Psychic type, remember?" he asked the unconscious before popping the Pecha berry lightly into his mouth. He chewed briefly, savoring the sweet flavor before swallowing and waiting for the natural acids of the berry to counteract the poison. Sure enough, the pain began to swiftly lessen until it was gone entirely.

At this precise moment Zephyr happened to glance toward his left and realized that he had an audience. Three little Spearows were standing at the edge of the clearing, each staring at Zephyr with wide, stunned eyes. Zephyr got an idea.

"Hi," he said cheerily, as though he had not just beaten about 20 large poison frogs into the ground. The Spearows just stared. "Could any of you tell me which direction is west?"

Simultaneously all three Spearows looked up at the sun for a moment. Then they looked back at Zephyr, still wearing those stunned eyes. Without looking away from him, each pointed one wing to the their left.

"Thanks," Zephyr said, waving as he started walking in the direction they had indicated. The Spearows watched him as he walked way. Then they glanced at the various piles of unconscious Toxicroaks. They took off in a flurry of feathers and flew as fast as physically possible in the opposite direction.

-(000)-

_Sorry this is so late!!! I lost the creative flow for a little while. Please don't kill me._


	7. Discord of the Moon

Short chapter this time. Just exploring another side of the story that will become much more significant later on. Enjoy

-(000)-

Discord of the Moon

The massive, imposing stone peak that was Mt. Coronet loomed overhead, jutting defiantly against the sky. Massive stone formations weathered by innumerable centuries dominated the mountainside, completely dwarfing the sparse population of scraggly bushes that had dared to take root. The mountain's rounded peak was capped with a shining layer of crystalline snow and encircled with a halo of white clouds, giving the seemingly unreachable peak an almost ethereal air. Standing next to this mountain, staring up at its sheer immensity and power, one felt pretty small in comparison.

"Who are you?" the mountain seemed to ask. "You are insignificant. I have stood the eternal test of time. I have existed before the birth of your ancestors was ever conceived, and I shall remain long after the bones of you children's children have turned to dust. I have lived ten thousand lives. I have weathered uncountable disasters. I stand here as a testament to the creation of the world itself. Who are you?"

Zephyr whistled softly as he slowly let his gaze wander up this immense stone rise. He'd always known that it was big. He'd crossed the mountain several times with Zach in the past. However, even to this day he was simply awed by the sheer massive power of this incredible natural wonder.

It was late evening, about three days after Zephyr's skirmish in the forest. Compared to his first day, his journey up until now had been uneventful at best, though that was mostly the idea. He'd deliberately stayed off the main routes and the beaten path in general. He was a very fine example of the Gallade species, and a prize that many Trainers would just love to catch for their teams. Since he would much rather not have to fight off every Trainer and his little brother from here to Canalave, he avoided towns, routes, and pretty much anyplace that a Trainer might decide to wander.

However, while being strong was something of a nuisance when it came to humans, in the wild it was an advantage. If you looked and/or acted tough, things tended to leave you alone. Zephyr hadn't gotten into a single fight since his battle with the Toxicroaks. Admittedly, he'd gotten into a shouting match with a Loudred when he'd snapped at it to please shut up, seeing as it had been around midnight and he was trying to get some sleep. He'd lost.

With a yawn and a slight stretch Zephyr ambled along the mountain's base, casting a critical eye across the landscape. He walked for about ten minutes before he came across one of the last trees to find root in this unforgiving, nutrient-drained soil. It was a mature oak, standing roughly twenty-five feet tall with a great sweeping canopy of green leaves that swayed gently in the evening breeze.

Satisfied, Zephyr took a short running leap and landed easily in one of the lower bows, nestling in for the night. It was still early evening and Zephyr could have kept going for a little while longer, but as he knew from experience the Pokemon of Mt. Coronet were extremely strong. He would much rather face them and the climb ahead fully refreshed.

As he lay in the tree, letting the energy of the day slowly drain out of him, he could not help but be captivated by the sheer peacefulness of the scene he had found himself in. The wind whispered softly as it rustled the leaves around him, creating a soothing sort of melody that was perfectly complimented by the gentle swaying of the branches. Overhead, a small family of Pidgeys cooed quietly as they settled into their nest for the evening. The sun was low on the horizon, casting long shadows from his prone form onto the ground below. The sky above was a great blaze of deep red and orange, and the harsh slopes of Mt. Coronet softened slightly as a slight golden shimmer played across its rock-strewn surface. It was just so beautiful, and yet Zephyr could not truly appreciate it, not when he knew that his mate was in mortal peril. If only she were here, lying next to him and sharing this beautiful vista.

Just before Zephyr fell asleep he made a silent prayer to Arceus begging for Rain's safety, as he did every evening. Normally, he would have known for a fact that at this moment Rain was alive and well. Gallades and Gardevoirs are extremely powerful in terms of psychic ability, and when two of them mate it creates a bond between them. This is more than a simple connection forged between minds, however. It is a melding of hearts, a truly perfect and complete union on every possible level. The very soul of each is surrendered to and accepted by the other, and they are forever entwined by unbreakable ties of deepest love.

This sacred union creates a connection between the two so powerful that either one of the pair can sense their mate from opposite sides of the planet. Even at such an impossible distance they can know, beyond all possible doubt, that their mate is still alive. However, Zephyr had been unable to sense Rain at all because, as he had guessed, Darkrai's powerful aura of Dark energy suppressed their communication.

"Please Arceus," he murmured just before he passed out, his voice soft and almost broken. "Please keep her safe. Do whatever you like to me, but please keep her safe."

-(000)-

Night draped over Newmoon Island and the surrounding oceans like a veil. The still mostly full moon was hidden behind a small spattering of clouds. The only sources of light were the stars and the glowing figure that hovered about a hundred yards off the coast of the island.

A beautiful creature vaguely reminiscent of a swan looked toward the island with a profoundly melancholy air. Her body was a beautiful soft blue, with a pale golden underbelly, and which shone with a gentle light. Instead of the usual feathered wings found on most birds she had three lovely pink crescents, one of which was positioned over her back like a collar. The other two swept from the first and arched forward until they met her front, upon which could be seen two small, delicate paws. Her head was adorned with a magnificent crest akin to a crescent moon, and her eyes were a beautiful shade of garnet. They were sad.

He was there, floating above the beach where she was looking. He knew she was there, and he returned her gaze coolly. There was no warmth in that gaze, and it was this coldness that made her heart ache. The eyes that had once looked at her with acceptance, kindness and (dare she even for a moment think it?) possibly even tenderness for so long now held nothing but cold dislike bordering on hatred.

There had been a time once when he had looked at her like that before, but it had not bothered her then. Back then that was the best she could ever have hoped for, and she would most likely have returned the glare with interest. But that was in the past. That was before she had seen the side of him that he had hidden from everyone for so long. She hadn't seen that look in his eyes for well over two thousand years, but for the last twenty it was the only gaze he seemed to have for her, and it hurt like a knife in her heart.

This was not the New Moon Spirit that she had come to know. The one she had grown so close to would never do things like this: kidnapping, murder, and who knew what others horrors he had done. This was not even mentioning what he actually hoped to finally accomplish by doing all of this. No, this was not like him at all, and if she weren't 100% sure that this really was him, she would have believed with all her heart that this was merely an imposter. But she knew. She was his counterpart. Of course she knew that this was the true Lord of Nightmares, this person who had betrayed his role, betrayed every other Great One, betrayed the world.

Betrayed her.

"Darkrai," Cresselia whispered in a voice that could break a heart of stone. "What happened to you?"

-(000)-

Darkrai continued to glare at the lunar swan until she finally turned and began to drift away. Her presence was nothing more than an irritation to him now. Oh, there had been a time when she had done more than just float and stare. When he had first chosen this new path she had argued with him constantly, attempting to reason with him and dissuade him, but he would not be swayed.

She then tried to fight him, subdue him so that he could not pursue his new purpose. But he would not be stopped. This was the way he had chosen, and he was not going to let her interfere. Eventually he refused to suffer her irritations any longer, so he showed her exactly what she was trying to contend with. She had barely escaped his island with her life, and she had only done so because he had allowed it. She did not bother him again. Whenever she came now, she never strayed closer than seventy yards if she was feeling truly brave, and she never tried to speak to him. She only looked at him with those sad eyes.

Yet even as the thought of how he had utterly broken her filled his black heart with the deepest pleasure, there was a note of discord in his being, though he had grown too deaf to hear it. That lack of harmony had come from the part of him that had been buried twenty years ago. It was silent and unfelt, but still it was there, and still it continued to feel on its own. Somewhere, deep in a part of his soul that he hadn't listened to for two decades he reflected upon exactly how close he had come to killing her, and doing worse things than that, and he wept tears that would never be shed.

-(000)-

_And thus the first hints of the LunarEclipse are planted. R & R, please._


	8. Frustrations

Frustrations

The wind whistled harshly over a great mountain plateau about halfway up the slope of Mt. Coronet. The stone terrace was about thirty yards wide and sparsely decorated with a few wind-blasted shrubs and a great field of boulders in every shape and size, as well as a light dusting of snow. The air was frosted with a bitter cold, and the sun glinted harshly off the already present ice crystals coating the ground. Suddenly, utterly shattering the tranquil air a small leaf satchel came flying up over the rocky edge of the plateau. It was immediately followed by a green three-fingered hand, which thrust itself over the lip of stone and clung for dear life.

Gasping, heaving and struggling like mad Zephyr finally managed to hoist himself over the edge and onto the stone ledge. He then rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky, gasping for air and clutching at the stitch in his side. He'd been climbing all day, and his stamina reserves had hit empty about thirty yards below. Only sheer force of will kept him going, and even that was beginning to fail him. However, Zephyr was determined that no matter what he was going to cross this mountain in four days or less, even if it killed him. He was starting to think it just might. Why couldn't he have been a Riolu?

Finally, when his breathing became just a little less frantic Zephyr hoisted himself back onto his feet. He walked over to the edge of the plateau and looked down. From over the edge it was a sheer drop of at least sixty yards before one would hit the impossibly steep slope of the mountainside and roll to their death, assuming the impact hadn't already killed them.

Zephyr shivered and rubbed his biceps as he turned to survey the plateau for potential threats. Damn, it was cold, and he wasn't even at the peak yet. At least his climb had been uneventful if incredibly strenuous. Zephyr had yet to meet a single hostile Pokemon on his way up the mountain.

'Maybe I'll get lucky,' he thought as he began to walk across the plateau, still shivering slightly. 'Maybe I won't have to fight at all.'

At that exact moment a trio of small rocks hopped off of a larger boulder, growling in their gravelly tones and flexing their small muscular arms at Zephyr. It wasn't really hard to guess what they wanted.

'Right. And maybe Grumpigs will grow wings and learn to fly. Honestly, when am I gonna learn to stop jinxing myself?'

However, Zephyr was hardly worried. These Geodudes acted tough, but they were still low-level, he had a serious type advantage, and there were only three in the first place. How much trouble could this be? With a sigh, Zephyr tensed his body and extended his arm blades, preparing for a quick and decisive victory.

His expectations for such began to fade slightly when the larger boulder that the Geodudes had leapt of off began to stand up and extend no less than four stony arms. The Graveler shook itself, dislodging various bits of loose rock and dirt before turning toward Zephyr and growling in a tone that sounded like a small rockslide. At the noise, four other large boulders also stood and revealed themselves to be Gravelers as well. All five clumped together and each flexed his or her quartet of muscular stone arms.

'Okay,' Zephyr thought in a slightly less cocky tone of thought. 'I can still handle this.'

A series of low growls began to issue from behind some of the larger inanimate boulders. However, these tones did not belong to a Graveler. They weren't...rocky enough. A moment later, three burly Machokes stepped out and leered at Zephyr. Their bodies bulged with massive muscles, and their powerful jaws were set as they each took on a battle stance.

'This is starting to get a little ridiculous,' Zephyr thought with a slightly irritated tone. 'I mean, really…'

Suddenly an earth quaking snarl shook the mountainside. Zephyr watched with incredulity as two of the largest boulders shifted positions and began to rise. Scaly, reptilian limbs extended from holes in the rocky shells, and slowly from the front of each rock snaked a serpentine head with leering eyes and jaws dripping with saliva. The two Golems began to walk slowly forward, each step causing the ground to shake slightly.

'Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me!' Zephyr thought.

It was at that exact moment that Zephyr noticed a large line of utterly massive stones lying across the plateau in a line that was just a little too perfect to be purely natural. For perhaps a second he dared hope that he wasn't looking at what he thought he was looking at, but he knew that he just wasn't that lucky. A moment later his fears were confirmed with a great rumbling.

Slowly, with a motion that made the earth shudder the line of boulders began to slide across the ground in a manner similar to a snake. Knowing exactly what he was going to see, Zephyr followed the stone line with his eyes until he came to the front, which was already beginning to rear up into the air. As the great stone behemoth rose ever higher the stones that made up its body rotated independently of each other like great ball bearings, grinding against each other and creating small showers of dust as they did so. At the end of the line of stone sat a massive triangular head with a dorsal crest set into the top. The Onyx reared over Zephyr, completely swallowing the Gallade in its shadow. Then it opened its jaws and released a roar so mighty that it actually caused a landslide on the other side of the mountain.

'Okay, _that_ just isn't fair!' Zephyr thought in outrage. Was Arceus _trying _to kill him?

The Onyx lunged forward with jaws open wide just as Zephyr leapt backward, burying its head into the ground. Zephyr then immediately ducked to avoid a nasty right hook from the nearest Machoke. Before he could retaliate he was forced to dance out of the way of a Rock Throw from one of the Gravelers. This put him within reach of one of the Geodudes, who wasted no time in leaping onto his back. Zephyr grabbed the little rock by the arm and swung him like a cudgel, smashing him into the head of a Graveler that tried to drop him with a right jab. The blow was fortunately strong enough to knock the Graveler silly, and it stumbled away dizzily. However, at that moment the Onyx managed to grab Zephyr in its mouth. It hoisted him into the air and bit down in a spine crushing hold as he struggled desperately to hold its mouth open.

'Shit,' he thought as he struggled under the incredible pressure of the beast's jaws. 'I hate Monster Houses.'

'Monster House' was a lay man's term for a Pokemon Diversity Nest. Pokemon Diversity Nests were slight abnormalities in Pokemon behavior, in which large groups of Pokemon from different and sometimes antisocial species would band together in areas that were abundant with supplies or some other sort of desirable commodity. The common need for something was usually enough to cause the groups of different Pokemon to put aside their differences in order to defend their stores.

Monster Houses usually consisted of large numbers of high level Pokemon, and as such were a serious threat to inexperienced Trainers and veterans alike. However, by far the most irritating and dangerous feature of a Monster House was the fact that its inhabitants tended to camouflage themselves for reasons as yet unknown. This essentially meant that unless you were very good at reading the signs you wouldn't spot a House until you were already in the middle of it.

Zephyr sent out a psychic pulse that caused the Onyx to roar with pain, slackening its jaw enough for Zephyr to leap out. He landed on his hands and pushed off, neatly avoiding the rolling charge from one of the Golems. He twisted in midair and launched a Psycho Cut at one of the Machokes. It found its mark and the Fighting type went down with a howl of pain.

Zephyr landed on all fours and stood up, but was sent flying by a blow from another Graveler. He quickly turned his tumble into a somersault and landed neatly in a crouch, dashing to the left just in time to avoid a Rock Slide from the other Golem. He stopped next to one of the other Gravelers, who happened to be looking the other way. Taking his chance, Zephyr leapt right in its face and delivered a storm of swift and furious blows.

Unfortunately, a slight disadvantage of using Close Combat was that it left your defenses wide open. The Graveler went down quickly, its rock armor shattering and blood oozing from the wounds, but sadly Zephyr was so focused on ensuring this that he failed utterly to see the Onyx swinging its tail, which was glowing bright silver, at him until it was much too late. The Iron Tail collided with his back and hurled him into the mountainside, leaving a nice roughly Zephyr-shaped crater.

Zephyr fell ungracefully from the crater onto his back, struggling to remain conscious. His type advantage ensured that the blow was not overly severe, but you don't get hurled into a wall of very hard and unyielding rock and just walk away whistling. Groaning, he staggered to his feet and leaned against a nearby boulder. The other Pokemon were rushing him now, and he had barely managed to make a dent in their ranks.

'Is it just my lot to suffer horribly?' Zephyr thought with a grimace. Gritting his teeth, he straightened up and prepared to feel a hell of a lot of pain.

-(000)-

Darkrai cautiously rounded the trunk of another withered tree and peered ahead. No girl. He sighed, partially with frustration and partially with relief. Half of him was extremely irritated that she still managed to elude him so effectively. Half of him was afraid of just how much pain he was going to feel when he finally caught up with her.

It was midday on New Moon Island. As if to spite the dire state of affairs on the island and its prisoner the sun shone cheerily and brightly, casting warm patches through the gaps in the canopy of trees. There was barely a cloud in sight, and those that were present drifted lazily on gentle spring breezes.

Darkrai leered up at the sun. To be perfectly honest, he didn't mind it all that much. That is, he didn't mind it as long as it didn't make the base presumption to shine in any way other then meekly over his island. It was a place of terror, for Arceus' sake. Golden streams of bright cheer did nothing at all to further this image, and much to destroy it.

Groudon was probably having his own private laugh over this somewhere, the stupid fossil. He would probably be the first one to die. Of course, Kyorge would have to follow soon after. She would not take the death of her mate lightly. Then Rayquaza would have to be dealt with, seeing as he was the leader of the Fossil Trio. Of course, once Darkrai finished his preparations that overgrown lizard would snap like uneeded cheap twine.

The rest of the Great Ones would soon follow suit, even Arceus herself. After all, if she was stupid enough to leave the means of her own doom lying around on earth where anyone could pick it up, she should expect that someone with a grudge to settle might try to take it. And he had four and a half billion years of hatred built up.

However, _that_ glorious day would have to wait until he found the girl. He quietly edged around the trunk of another tree, and this time his now-visible mouth curled into a chilling grin. There she was, leaning against the trunk of a withering tree and glancing around like a frightened Buneary. Unfortunately for Darkrai, before he could make his move she just happened to glance directly at him.

She immediately stood bolt upright and fled through the trees. Darkrai sighed. Oh well. So much for the element of surprise. He flew after her, the trails of organic material flapping ominously from his shoulders. He looped and swirled silently through the trees, not even clipping a single dead branch.

This was too easy. Darkrai had chased more victims than he could count through every imaginable kind of environment. The only thing that would be more comfortable than him moving through dense forest at high speeds would be a Sceptile, and they were just weird like that. Honestly, they looked like giant juniper bushes for goodness' sake, and when had a bush ever moved in a manner even remotely resembling hasty?

The chase was extremely short. In all honesty, the girl did give him a good run, but he had lived on this island since the day it was made. If he didn't have every single inch of its territory burned into his brain by now, then no one ever would. Within fifteen minutes the girl was pinned against the base of a giant boulder, her escape to either side cut off by thick trees and bushes.

She turned to face him and cowered helplessly against the rock face, shaking like a leaf in a high wind. She tried to put on a brave face, but her knocking knees kinda destroyed the attempt, which was pretty feeble anyway. Darkrai's grin widened even more, revealing the tips of his dagger point teeth.

These were the moments he lived for, the moments he was created to inspire. There was nothing, absolutely nothing he found sweeter than abject terror radiating from his victims. In recent years he had developed a taste for cries of pain and the sight of blood, but terror was still the best by far.

He floated slowly towards her, every inch the harbinger of death and doom. He made a conscious effort to roughen his breathing, and it came in horrible rattling rasps, hissing like a demented serpent. A slight layer of darkness poured off his body like black mist, swirling across the ground in little eddies and reaching out toward the girl, looping lazily around her figure as if to ensnare her. He was rather proud of that particular effect. It had taken him 200 years to get just right. She shivered even more as the eerie tendrils of blackness wrapped around her limbs. His one visible eye glowed with a terrible brightness of its own, and it was narrowed just that special degree to speak of horrible tortures and unimaginable terror.

He was almost utterly enthralled by her terror, but in spite of this the small part of his brain that picked out even the most random details was still actively collecting data for no particular reason at all. His subconscious ran memory checks against the images being sent in by his optic nerves, confirming the location that he was in. This particular glen was a favorite of his, the subconscious thought to itself in its mindless way. It was almost always dark no matter what angle the sun chose.

The subconscious began picking out the locations of each and every little detail to which it had become so familiar. Everything checked out. Everything was were it should be, the way it should be. Everything…except for one detail. Hadn't there been a sapling somewhere around here? It was a new sprout, barely a year old and just as tall as the average human adult. Where was it now? Had it died? Had the girl uprooted it?

A thousand possibilities flashed through the subconscious' data processing reserves, all of them unregistered by Darkrai's main thinking patterns. In the end, the subconscious decided that it was a minor issue, and dropped it.

At that moment, Darkrai felt something brush across his face. It was soft, and yet it clung to his face, sort of like a spider web. He rolled his eyes in irritation. Some damn Spinarak must have moved in again. He reached up and ripped the fiber away angrily.

Several things happened in the space of about ten seconds. Firstly, Darkrai registered that the girl was no longer wearing a look of terror anymore. Her expression was now one of smug victory. Oh shit.

WHAM!  
WHAM!  
WHAM!  
WHAM!  
WHAM!  
SNAP!!

The five 'whams' were the sounds made as five different tree branches swung around and smashed Darkrai in the head from various angles. The 'snap' was the sound of the missing sapling suddenly swinging upright and smacking him square in the face. Then, before he could ignore the pounding in his temples enough to shake off his dizziness the girl marched over to him and grabbed him by the throat, slamming his head into a tree. Then, she wound back her free hand, which was now curled into a sparking fist. Her face was one of hard determination, and more than just a hint of victory.

'This can't be a normal Gardevoir,' Darkrai thought to himself. He closed his eyes, expecting to feel a hell of a lot of pain. He was not disappointed. Rain enjoyed this part too much.

-(000)-

It was late afternoon on the side of Mt. Coronet, almost evening. The sun was hiding behind a large white cloud, and the small snow covered ledge set about three quarters of the way up the slope was dark, the normally blinding whiteness muted. Suddenly, a shaking hand as brown as the soil underfoot slowly rose over the lip of stone.

It took Zephyr a solid ten minutes to struggle over the edge and onto the snow. Ignoring the bitter cold he fell flat on his back and lay panting. His body was completely covered head to foot in blood from minor cuts, dust and dirt from the mountain's surface, and very large bruises that were already turning a sickly yellow. He barely had a spot of his normal white or green visible.

When his head felt as though there were only three Explouds shouting inside of it as opposed to the several hundred of a few moments previous, Zephyr struggled onto his hands and knees. Groaning, he crawled somewhat pathetically to the edge and looked over at the aftermath of the battle. Compared to the carnage below, his injuries looked like nothing more than a skinned knee.

The entire plateau was awash with blood, though admittedly most of it belonged to the Onyx. Said rock snake was still rolling down the mountainside, its progress marked by a massive dust cloud. Every other participant in the fight was either dead or unconscious. Each and every one of them had huge bloody wounds in their hides, even the Golems. One of the Gedudes had, sadly, been reduced to a small red-smeared pile of gravel.

Zephyr looked down at the scene with a heavy heart. He didn't like to kill. He derived absolutely no pleasure from inflicting death upon other creatures. He had no qualms about doing it in the heat of battle, when it was either them or him and the ones he cared about, but he always regretted it later.

Some people might say that this showed weakness, and that Zephyr would never make a good warrior because of it. Zephyr knew better, as did every Gallade that was ever born. A truly great warrior does not kill with impunity. The true warrior respects life, appreciates it, and refrains always from taking it unless there is no other course of action. He understands that he has no right to claim the life of another, and he always feels the pain of that death later.

Slowly, Zephyr tried to struggle into a standing position. However, the effort was too much for him and he collapsed face first in the snow. He was utterly spent, and it was getting dark. Soon the temperature would drop too low for him to survive. He had to find some kind of shelter. Unfortunately, he was currently so badly hurt that he couldn't even stand, let alone search for anything. He could actually feel the temperature start to drop around him.

"Um, excuse me mister," came a voice suddenly. It was soft and raspy, like the wind in the winter trees. "Are you okay?"

Slowly, painfully, Zephyr turned his head to see a little Snover standing about three feet away. Judging from its voice and the brown circle around its body it was male, and it looked to be about five years old. The little wooden snowman looked at Zephyr with concern.

"Well, I've just been beaten nearly to death, but other than that I'm fine," he said sardonically. He tried to accompany the statement with a sarcastic laugh, but it quickly turned into a coughing fit that drove spikes of pain through his chest.

"You need to find shelter," the Snover said. "Warm-bloods like you can't survive the nights out here. There's a cave about ten minutes away. Can you walk?"

Zephyr tried once again to get up off his face, but this effort was no more successful than any of the previous, and he fell into the snow once again. He had never felt this helpless in his life, except when Darkrai had nearly killed him. At least this time his odds of survival were slightly better, though the cold was soon going to change that.

"Don't move," the Snover said. "I'll get my mom to carry you. She's really strong." With that the snowman turned around and waddled away, leaving Zephyr to lie in his little snow bank.

When the Snover returned ten minutes later a large Abomasnow accompanied him. Without a word the yeti-like creature picked Zephyr up by the leg with one arm and flung him over her back like a sack of potatoes, seemingly without any effort. Zephyr almost complained about the rough treatment, but decided against it. As he was carried slowly away, the fatigue of battle and the severity of his injuries finally caught up with him. Within five minutes he was completely out cold, and not at all certain that he would wake up again. At least Abomasnows weren't carnivores.

Right?

-(000)-

_Yay for long chapter!!_


End file.
